A King and His Son
by ArchAngelMikey
Summary: A re-imagining of Fate/Zero with two servants per master, as well as a different master for Saber. This story will explore the relationships between several characters and seek to tell a believable, unique tale filled with all the emotions that should be inherent in a Holy Grail War.
1. Chapter 1

**Please Read.**

 **Disclaimers and Legal Issues: I do not own the rights to any of the characters, music works, movies, etc. that may be mentioned in this story. All rights belong to the respective owners of said works. All characters, names, and persons in this story are** **fictitious, any similarities to real persons living or dead is unintentional and coincidental.**

 **This story contains mature themes including vulgar language, intense violence and gore, and sexual content. It is not intended for children or those who are faint of heart. This story seeks to tell a believable, realistic story of love, pain, danger, adrenaline-fueled action, and reconciliation.**

 **Please enjoy.**

I stand in front of a patch of dirt, upon it is inscribed a magic summoning circle. I check my watch, 0200 hours, perfect, time to begin. I raise my right hand, upon which is a red glowing seal that resembles a sword, and begin reciting the incantation I've spent the last week memorizing.

My name is Jacob Roberts, I was a soldier in the US Army before I joined the NSA. Three months ago I was approached by the Secretary of Defense and asked if I wanted to help save the world, and of course I said yes. I said goodbye to my daughter and spent the next two and a half months in London, England learning magecraft.

Apparently I have an ancient bloodline of Mages that no one in my family knew about, so I have the ability to access this extra body system called magical circuits and use those circuits to produce a form of energy called mana, and use that energy to use magic. In London I learned the basics of magecraft, how to shape mana into a somewhat solid form and do almost whatever I want with it. My best subjects were pyromancy and healing magic, yeah, weird combo.

I, as a former captain, am the leader of a small team, the two other members waiting in the car about a hundred feet behind me. We were told to come to this spot and summon a Servant, I'm standing in a field somewhere in Shropshire, on top of an old burial site.

A week ago I was chosen to be a master in the Holy Grail War, a battle between Mages and spirits to have a wish granted. I learned about the War in London, basically I summon a Servant, a Heroic Spirit, and have them fight other Servants until mine is the only one left and I win. Now, I begin the incantation to summon my Servant.

"Heed my words, my will creates your body, and your sword creates my destiny. If you heed the Grail's call, and obey my will and reason, then answer my summoning. I hereby swear, that I shall be all the good in the world, and that I shall defeat all the evil in the world!"

After my melodramatic recitation is done, the circle starts glowing a bright blue, and after a flash that nearly blinds me and makes me hold my hand up to shield my eyes, I look back at the circle and see a woman standing within it. She wears a blue dress, as well as a chest piece and lower arm pieces of plate armor. She is blonde, with her hair pulled into a tight bun, she has emerald eyes, and a slightly androgynous face, but based on her features it's easy to tell that she's female. She looks at me, holding an elaborate long sword with the top pointed down, hands resting on the pommel. After a moment she speaks. "I am Servant, Saber class. I ask of you… Are you my master?"

"...Yes, I am, my name is Captain Jacob Roberts, United States Army."

"Very well then, my true name is Arturia Pendragon, King of Camelot. People in your era know me as King Arthur. I shall entrust this body and sword to you, everything I am shall be yours to use as you see fit. I hope that we will have many victories in this coming war." She has a slight British accent and speaks with an authoritative, regal tone. Her words could be described as fancy.

"And I the same, I shall fight by your side and use your skills as best as I can to ensure victory…"

I feel a strange feeling, like my energy is being sapped from me, it's not too much, just enough to be noticeable, and I also experience a surge of random memories or visions of medieval battles and royal courts.

"Huh...King Arthur? _The_ King Arthur? _You_ are King Arthur? But you're… well…"

"Yes, I understand your confusion, I had to conceal my gender for political reasons. I assure you though, that my being a woman will not affect my fighting ability in the slightest."

"Oh no, don't worry, I wasn't worried about that, it's just, uh… surprising… Anyways, we need to go, we need to formulate a strategy for the war."

Saber's sword and armor dissipate in specs of golden light, leaving only her dress. She follows me as I turn to walk back to my vehicle. Suddenly another blue light appears behind us and we turn to see the circle is once again starting to flash.

When the light from the circle dims once more, I tell Saber to stay where she is and circle around to the other side. Another spirit just got summoned somehow, and I feel a pain on my arm, and look down to see another symbol has formed, above the first, on my wrist, it looks like a skull, and a helmet, at the same time. I look down at my hand and then back up, and see another figure standing in the circle. "What… the fuck?..." I mutter, I was only supposed to have one Servant, or whatever these things are called. Now I have two to deal with? Shit.

Inside the circle stands a person, small in stature but clad in some beastly looking armor, it is white and crimson, with lots of sharp angles and spikes on certain parts. They are wearing a horned helmet that hides their entire head and face. They are holding a sword that matches their armor, pointed down with the tip of the blade on the ground in the same way Saber was when she was summoned. Another knight, I guess.

As I stare, slightly awe-struck and very confused, the Servant's helmet breaks apart and moves on its own to become part of the neck and shoulder armor, revealing the wearer's surprisingly feminine face. The Servant's face looks very similar to Saber, and her hair, which is also blonde, is done up in a short ponytail that splays out in several directions. She opens her eyes, which are the exact same color as Saber's, and says to me, "I am Servant, Saber class, my name is Sir Mordred, I was once a knight under King Arthur… So then, I ask of you, are you my master?"

She speaks with an aggressive tone, loud and confident, bordering on arrogant, and as she asks me if I'm her master, she smiles in a way that looks more like she's baring her teeth in a cocky grin. "I am… my name is Captain Jacob Roberts, United States Army… Sir Mordred, huh? Heh, with you here I guess this war is officially over."

"Heheh, a captain? Good, at least you're a soldier who can kick some ass when it comes down to it, and you're not some run-of-the-mill pansy-ass mage." I feel another drain on my energy, and see another influx of random memories, I guess that's our contract sealed.

I smile in return at her comment, "Yeah don't worry, I'll do what I can to back you up in a fight, just don't go overboard, I've only got so much mana, I hope you don't mind sharing me."

"Sharing you? The hell do you mean?" I nod behind Mordred to Arturia. Mordred turns around to look at her.

Arturia had simply stood there dumbfounded as Mordred and I had our little exchange, as Mordred turns to face her they look at each other for a second, Arturia says, "Mo-"

Mordred propels herself forward, using a burst of mana to enhance her acceleration and cover the 20 foot distance between her and Arturia in less than a second. The force of her moving forward cracks the ground where she was standing and creates a gust of wind and dirt that blinds my eyes for a second. As I blink dirt out of my eyes I hear Mordred scream in rage.

Arturia is only just able to bring her sword up in time to start blocking and parrying Mordred's attacks. As I process what's going on and start running over to them, their blades clash and they start talking to each other. "I'll kill you!" Mordred screams.

"You're still as foolish as you've always been, Mordred."

"Shut up! This time is different, this time I swear I'll show you-"

I get to them, I'm not too sure what's going on, but I do remember reading about the King Arthur legend, how Mordred is Arthur's illegitimate son and he ends up betraying and killing Arthur, but dies in the process. But I really don't care about that, right now I have a war to fight and I don't need my team members trying to kill each other. While they stare hatefully at each other, their blades pressed against each other, I grab both of their shoulders and try to separate them, "Both of you, STOP!"

A wave of red energy bursts out of me and envelops them for a second, then they both take a step back and lower their swords. Their movements are stiff and jerky, like they're moving against their will and trying to fight it. I get between them and place my hands on their chests, I notice that part of the symbols on my right hand are faded out. "God dammit, shit, look what you two made me fucking do! Now I don't know exactly what your pasts were like, but that's in the _past_ , and now, I'm your master, and we're trying to win a war. I don't wanna have to be an asshole and bark orders at you all the time, and I don't wanna use my command seals to keep you in line, I've already wasted one on this shit, but I will if I have to!"

They glare at me, and each other, Arturia dissipates her armor and sword, then takes another step back and asks Mordred, "Very well, are you going to be civil now, Mordred?" Mordred still has her face contorted in a snarl, holding her sword in one hand, her gaze flicks between me and Arturia, then she finally relaxes, just a little, "Fine." She spits out.

I lower my hands, subconsciously noting that neither of them have much going for them in the chest area, and heave a heavy sigh. "Women." I mutter, and then immediately feel the edge of a blade against my throat. I follow the length of the sword with my eyes to Mordred, the source of my now extreme discomfort and slight fear. Her face is no longer twisted in a hateful growl, but her eyes show a cold rage that borders on insane hatred, that would make most people freeze in fear.

"Don't. Call me. A girl. Next time, I won't stop myself." Mordred threatens.

"Mordred!" Arturia growls, looking at Mordred like an upset parent.

I study Mordred for a second. She must have some kind of complex. "...Why?" I ask.

Mordred blinks, clearly caught off guard by the fact that her threat didn't work on me. "B- because I'm a knight!"

"Okay, you're a knight who happens to be female, how is that bad?"

"W- well, women can't be knights! Why do you think my father concealed her gender?"

I glance at Arturia, then I focus back on Mordred. "Maybe where you come from, but where I come from anyone can be anything, and personally I don't care if you're a man or a woman, I just want you to do your job and do it well. But if you don't like me calling you a girl, then I won't."

She thinks on this for a second, then lowers her sword, slowly. "Good. Thanks, Master." She mumbles, and her armor and weapon disappear in a small flash of red lightning. She is clad in a very different outfit than Arturia's, it's a red tube top, little more than a bra, red shoulderless sleeves, a red skirt that flays out on the sides and is open on the front, showing a dark red loincloth, black tights starting at her mid-thigh and going all the way down, and red high heel boots.

For someone who doesn't want to be called a girl she wears some pretty revealing clothing, showing almost her entire torso save most of her breasts (though she does have a pretty nice underboob going, but to mention so would be tantamount to suicide), as well as her thighs. I sigh inwardly as I think that my two Servants are pretty much polar opposites, which could be part of the reason why they hate each other so much, other than the fact that they literally killed each other. They might be more than I'll be able to handle.

We walk back to my car, I have Arturia sit up front with me while Mordred sits on the opposite side, behind me, in the back with my two teammates. 1LT Anthony Schellick, my radio and technical communications guy and the second-in-command, asks "Everything good boss?" I respond "Yep, just some family drama, you know how it is." Schellick looks at me quizzically but doesn't comment further. He chooses to sit in the middle of the seat and leave his head back to sleep.

CW2 Veronica Minaki, my team sniper, and another mage, sits behind Arturia and rests her head against the window without much comment. On the drive back to base I start feeling tired so I put in headphones and play some hard music from my phone, which just so happens to be "Custer" by Slipknot. Arturia sits poised and elegant beside me, looking either out her window or straight ahead, and Mordred sits relaxed in her seat, and I notice from occasional glances in the rear view mirror that she's slightly head banging in tune with the song I'm listening to, which is weird since I'm the only one who can hear my music.

After a hour long drive and having to glare at a British private gate guard to get Arturia and Mordred allowed on base, I get a few hours of sleep and get ready for a briefing later in the morning.


	2. Chapter 2

Sitting in a small conference room in 22nd SAS HQ, every member of my team sits waiting for a briefing. Schellick and Minaki, since they aren't full-fledged mages like me, had a briefing earlier about what exactly the Holy Grail War is. Now, a three-star general walks into the room. "Group, attention!" I say and my teammates and I stand, hesitantly followed by Arturia and then Mordred.

"Carry on." He responds and we all sit back down. "Right, so, you all know what this War thing is, so I won't go over that, but I will give you directives on your SOP's and ROE for this operation. We're calling it: Operation Geas. Here's what you need to do: take part in, and win, the Holy Grail War, once you have done that, secure the Grail and return it to the United States, and the Secretary of Defense will decide what to do with it. Don't worry, I know you think we might use it for some evil corrupt government purpose, but we're currently working on a system of failsafes and checks and balances so that when we decide to use it, it's for a good reason. Anyways, secure the Grail. That is your objective, your tasks will be to minimize public exposure and civilian death during the Grail War. The War will be held in Fuyuki City, Japan. You will HALO drop into the city at night in one week. You will establish a forward operating base and blend with the populace, keeping battles to nighttime in secluded areas. Conduct recon and gather whatever supplies you need during the day, as you're very unlikely to encounter another Master or Servant during the day. Find your enemies' weaknesses and exploit them. If you have witnesses who see the Servants fighting or being different, eliminate them. Also, if your Servants are killed, contact the Church in Fuyuki, they will shelter you until we can arrange transport out of the city. You'll spend the week here training with your servants and fly out at this time in seven days. Questions?"

We all shake our heads, I put away the notebook and pen I had out to take notes, and we all leave the room.

…

Three days later I'm in a combatives room, basically a large ring with padding everywhere so that soldiers can practice hand to hand combat without seriously hurting themselves. I'm in a combat outfit that has some long ass anagram name that the army scientists who made it decided to call it, but everyone who's worn it and used it (about 30 people now) call it "Mobility Gear". It's a multi-piece system, designed to give the wearer maximum combat maneuverability and dexterity, as well as strength and stamina. It's some real sci-fi shit that the military has probably been working on for a couple decades now.

The suit consists of an inner layer that functions similar to standard army OCP's, but is filled with sensors set in certain spots, a middle layer that acts as armor made of Kevlar plates, which also has magazine pouches and containers for equipment, as well as holsters for sidearms, and an outer layer which is effectively an exoskeleton, attached to my limbs and back, allowing me to move faster than any normal human on record, and lift more than any other regular person. Tests conducted show that the suit can last on battery power for about 16 hours (it also has mini solar panels to allow it to function in sunlight without using battery power), and the wearer can run two miles in 7 minutes and feel the same level of exertion as if they had jogged 100 yards, and deadlift the equivalent weight of a sedan with ease. On top of that, there's a trophy system set up with the exo suit that's linked to the sensors on the inner suit, so if the suit detects an incoming projectile, anything slower than a bullet, the exo suit itself will take over and move to avoid or even catch the projectile.

I also have a combat helmet with a changeable visor, it's basically an inserted eye protection, that can switch between clear, shaded, night vision, thermal, and EMF (electromagnetic frequency, allowing us to see Servants even when in "spirit" form). The suit has a few cameras on it so HQ can monitor mission progress, and the exo suit is hooked up to a cerebral chip I had implanted in me so that I can effectively control the suits movements with my thoughts if I need to.

Yeah, some real sci-fi shit.

And on top of all of that, it has a grapnel and harness system as well. What I mean by that is, I have a body harness on, between the inner and middle layers, and they're hooked up to a device that sits around my waist area and shoots out a small grapple hook like Batman's grapnel gun, allowing me to zip around like Spider-Man or some shit. The entire setup is designed to make a soldier highly mobile and resilient in an urban combat environment, and I gotta say it's pretty badass. But I have no idea why I have to use this thing against Arturia, who's standing ready at the other end of the room, waiting for me to charge at her. Servants are stronger than any human no matter what, even the weakest ones could lift more and run longer and hit harder than any regular human, and I say as much to Minaki who's watching and recording us through a one-way mirror.

"Well Captain, the lab coats wanted to properly test the suit against a Servant, just to see what level of combat effectiveness the suit gives the wearer, as well as getting a recording of the abilities of a Servant."

"Plus," Schellick chimes in, "It's always fun to see someone get their ass completely handed to them! Hahaha!"

Those two are some pretty interesting people. Schellick was a commo and signals intel officer for a while before he was chosen for this mission, he'll handle any electronic and communications related issue on the mission. And Minaki is a sniper, she was with the Rangers and has about as many confirmed kills as Chris Kyle. Schellick is a little obnoxious and boisterous, he's got a very light sense of humor, and thinks everything is a laughing matter. Minaki is quiet and passive, but comes up with some pretty good quips every now and then, but she's usually pretty serious, and she responds to jokes seriously even though it's obvious she knows it's a joke.

I growl as I turn to Arturia, and I flick my wrists to extend the combat knife blades inside the wrists of my exo suit, and grab onto the handles, holding them so that the blades face outwards. I'm not a master of martial arts or anything but I have taken quite a few knife fighting and self defense and combatives courses in my time in the military. I slowly start advancing towards Saber as she does the same towards me.

"Now remember Saber, flat of the blade."

"Of course, Master, I do not wish to seriously harm you." Saber's eyes are intense, focused and serious, her face almost expressionless as she holds her sword in front of her.

We stop about ten feet away from each other, waiting for the other to make the first move. Finally I twirl my right blade around and lunge forward, aiming to stab her. She must have anticipated that attack since she, quite deftly, sidesteps my thrust and slashes upwards at me, and I just barely manage to parry the attack with my left blade.

The battle begins, we start thrusting and jabbing and slashing and cutting at each other, all of our attacks either being blocked or parried or dodged. The only thing keeping me from getting smacked in the face by Saber's blade is the increased speed I have from my suit, and also the trophy system adds a little help here and there. I start noticing that there's something else helping me avoid her attacks: I see them happen before they do, and by that I mean that I see little flashes of visions in my head, from Saber's point of view, of her making an attack about a quarter of a second before she makes it, giving me just enough time to prepare for her attack.

Thinking about this, I decide to do an experiment, so when I have an opportunity, after about two minutes of fighting, I catch Saber's blade with my two daggers crossed together, and hold us locked in for a moment, both of us grunting and grimacing from the strain of trying to either hold the pin or break it. "Arturia, I have a question. What am I thinking about right now?"

"Master, surely you don't believe that someone of my skill would be fooled by-"

"No no I'm serious, do you know what I'm thinking about right now?"

I conjure up images in my head of my daughter, the most important thing in my life, a beautiful six year old girl who has light blonde hair and stunning blue eyes just like her mother's, even though her mother passed away three years ago. I think about her smile, her laugh as I lift her up and into the air when I get home from work.

"You… You're thinking about… a girl… a girl with blonde hair and blue eyes…"

Hmm, so she can see my thoughts, Mordred must be able to as well, that was probably why she was jamming out to my music before, and I guess I can see glimpses into their heads as well. Must be due to our Servant-Master bond, I'll have to learn how to make good use of that. "Yeah. That's my daughter. Her name's Violet."

"Your…" Saber looks at me, a little confused.

"Mhm, and what am I thinking about…" I grin impishly, "now?" I fill my mind with as vivid an imagination I can of myself, from this position, blades locked and faces inches away, lunging forward to kiss Arturia, then wrapping my arms around her as she melts into my embrace. The idea has its desired effect, as Arturia in the real world freezes up, her eyes widen and her mouth goes agape, her face turning a dark red as her mind is assaulted with such sudden, vulgar thoughts.

I take the opportunity I created to break the blade lock and slash at her, and she only barely manages to evade my attacks, though I do notice a few locks of hair slowly drifting down to the ground. Our battle resumes as I hear over the speaker, Mordred, who had also been watching from the side room, screaming "WHAT THE HELL!?" I laugh as I continue to dodge Saber's blows, my mind now being forced to view images of her running me through and beheading me and other such things as Arturia shrieks in rage.

Eventually she connects with a strike, and the force of it sends me cartwheeling into the wall. Luckily all the different layers I have on, as well as the wall padding, dampened my impact so I don't think I'm seriously hurt. I get up and see Arturia storming out of the room, maybe I went a little too far.

Schellick is laughing hysterically over the intercom, "Boss, boss, hahahaha, what did you do?"

"I'll tell you later. Oh fuck that hurt. Hey, when we start fighting the other servants, remind me not to get hit by one directly."

"What did it feel like?" Minaki asks as I start walking out of the room.

I turn to the one-way mirror, "Imagine getting hit by a car going 80 miles an hour, but the car is actually the Empire State Building."

More hysterical laughter from the observation room.

…

A few days later and we're preparing for takeoff in a US Air Force C-130 transport plane. Luckily Arturia wasn't too mad at me for my little stunt, once I explained to her why I did it. "Even so Master, I, as a Heroic Spirit, am merely a tool for you to use in the War, I would ask that you refrain from thinking such thoughts in a serious manner." She told me.

We're getting all of our gear strapped down, we've only got some large rucksacks for what little military equipment we'll need other than our weapons, and Arturia and Mordred are sitting on the seats waiting for us to take off. We got some standard issue uniforms for them to wear so they don't attract attention on base, but we couldn't get them any civilian clothes, the rest of my team only has one outfit each, so I decided that one of the first things we'll do once we get to Fuyuki is shopping for clothes for all of us.

A ground crew member approaches me while I'm tying down my ruck above my seat between my Servants, I can tell by the fact that he has no rank on at all that he's brand new, probably straight out of high school, and says "Excuse me sir, but I'm writing an autobiography about what life is like for myself as ground crew, so that people can know what it's like, and I like to ask people what kinds of missions they go on so I have stories to tell, are you able to tell me a bit about what you and your team are doing?"

I look at the kid for a second, and decide, fuck it, I'll humor him. "Hmm… You ever seen _Monty Python and the Holy Grail_?"

"...Uh… Yes sir."

I point at Arturia, "That's King Arthur, and we're going on a mission to claim the Holy Grail." The airman looks from me to Arturia for a couple seconds, clearly confused, trying to decide if he should believe me. I laugh and clap him on the shoulder, "Just fucking with you kid, sorry but I can't tell you what we're doing, this op is blacker than the shit SEALs do, but good luck with that book." Schellick's snickering can be heard from my right.

The crew member nods sullenly and chuckles at my "joke" as he leaves the back of the aircraft to continue his pre-flight checks.

I finish stowing my gear and sit down between my Servants to wait, Schellick and Minaki sit opposite us. "Hey boss," Schellick asks, "do we have a callsign for this op?"

"Yeah…" I pause and think for a second, then grin as I say, in a high pitched voice, "we are the knights who say… Ni!"

Schellick, Minaki, and I laugh, my Servants look at me weirdly. "No but seriously, we're code name: Scepter. I'm Six, you, Schellick, are Eight, Minaki's Nine, Arturia is One, and Mordred's Two."

Schellick and Minaki give me a thumbs up, and Schellick says, "Hey, can we give ourselves nicknames?"

I shake my head, "I would allow it, but since it's you and me, I'd rather not have to explain to whoever's gonna be monitoring our radio chatter why 'Dick Cheese McGee' is trying to get ahold of 'Pussy Slayer'"

Schellick and I laugh some more, Minaki just shakes her head and says "Fucking POG's." Which just causes us to continue our efforts. We continue with our bantering as we get ready for takeoff.

…

Six and a half hours later we're about halfway through our flight to Fuyuki. I gotta say it was pretty funny to see Mordred's and Arturia's reactions when we took off. They explained afterwards, while everyone else was giggling at them for clenching the seats and bracing so hard they bent the metal a bit, that Servants are given knowledge about the era they are summoned to that is slightly higher than that of an average first world citizen, so they know what cars and planes and smartphones and guns and other such things are, and they even know how to use them as well, like flying a plane or driving a car with the skills of a professional stunt driver. But, knowledge doesn't equal experience, and they often get left awestruck when they experience a new sensation that they never felt in life, like flying in a plane.

"So Master, will these uniforms help us get through the airport faster when we land?" Mordred asks me.

I look at her, confused for a second. We're not landing, we're jumping out- ah shit, I never told them what we'd be doing, I got so caught up with other training that it slipped my mind. "Uh, no, we actually won't be landing at the airport, we're gonna jump out of the plane and parachute into the forest on the south side of the city, and we'll just camp out there for the rest of the night, it should be about 0130 when we jump, and in the morning we'll go to the house I found and rented online, set up there, and go get some essentials after that."

"Oh… wait… wait, we're jumping out of the plane!? But, but I don't know how to do that!"

"You don't?" I ask Mordred, she shakes her head in the dim red light of the cargo bay. I turn my head to look at Arturia, "Either of you?" She shakes her head as well. I give an exasperated sigh and unbuckle myself from my seat, stand, and pull the parachute from behind my seat. I then give a quick lesson on how to use a parachute and perform a HALO jump.


	3. Chapter 3

After about half an hour explaining skydiving to my Servants, and after I'm comfortable that they understand it, I sit back down and get some sleep. I get woken back up by the pilot's voice over an intercom, "Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to inform you that we are nearly at our destination, I will give you the green light when you are good to jump, thank you for flying with Bella Rose Airlines and good luck on your mission."

I smile as I stand and put my ruck on, well it's not really a ruck, it's just a really big hiking backpack, so that we can move our gear around without drawing too much attention. I and my two regular human teammates have on our Mobility Gear, and we put on our parachutes over our rucks and secure everything to our harnesses. I'm the impromptu jump master so I go to the back of the plane to hit a button and open the hatch, which causes a surge of sound as wind goes through the compartment, backed by the sound of the engines.

I have Schellick and Minaki stand and I check their chutes and harness to ensure it's tight and secure, tugging on their straps and then patting them on the helmet when they're good. We all have breathing masks on, so we have to use non verbal communication. Once they're good they go stand by the edge of the ramp and look back at me, and I look at the red light in the cabin. Once it goes green I point at them, and they both jump.

Once they've jumped I have Arturia and Mordred stand and I check their gear as well. I then guide them to the edge of the ramp, I'm standing facing the rest of the plane while they're facing the end of the ramp, I look behind me and get ready, then look at them, their eyes show a little fear, and I smile as I hold up three fingers, then two, and then grab them both by the straps across their chests and pull them with me as I push off and fall into the sky.

Their eyes go wide as they're thrown into free fall, and I laugh to myself as I guide myself down, watching them. We fall and after a minute they sort of get the hang of controlling themselves. When we get close to the ground I tap my chest to indicate for them to pull their chutes, and I pull my own, so that when all the chutes open I'm above them. We glide down into the forest, I take a second to look at the city, filled with lights and buildings and people. About to be turned into a battlefield.

…

After I free myself from my chute, I make my way to where I saw Arturia and Mordred land, I don't worry about Schellick or Minaki, I saw them land with no difficulties about 30 seconds before I did, and they'll get to me eventually, we've all got GPS trackers on so we know where everyone's at at any time. I get to Arturia's and Mordred's LZ and find Mordred sitting on a stump, her uniform and chute discarded, looking up and smiling. I follow her gaze to see Arturia about 20 feet up in a tree, dangling and struggling with her harness.

"Oh if only the other knights could see this," Mordred says with a laugh, "Maybe they'd see why Camelot fell!"

"You be quiet, Mordred!" Arturia bites back, "This is not my fault, it's this… stupid… buckle!" She grunts and growls as she tries to free herself from her restraints.

I decide that I need to do something, so I jump up to Arturia (the exo suit is operated by gas powered hydraulics which allows me to jump extremely high and do other such things). I grab onto one of her chute ropes and wrap my legs around her waist to stabilize myself while I fiddle with her chest buckle, which when undone, will allow her to slip out of the chute. But it won't come undone, even with my increased strength from my suit, as well as her Servant strength, I can't do anything to it. I look at Arturia, our faces somewhat uncomfortably close, but for some reason I don't mind it too much.

"Well, looks like there's only one thing to do." I say.

"What's that, Master?"

I smile as I extend my knife blade from my wrist, "Should've been obvious to you, you are Saber after all. Alright, tuck your legs up and hold onto my chest." I undo my legs from around Arturia so that I'm only hanging on by my arm, and she does as I say. With one swipe I cut all the cords of the chute above Arturia's head, and we start to fall. I wrap my arms around Arturia and pull back slightly, bending my legs and tucking my chin so that I'm acting as a shell for her, locking my armor so that I don't move once we land, and when we hit the ground we roll a couple times.

I unlock my armor and relax a bit, "You good?" I ask, Saber is practically sitting on me, our faces no more than an inch apart.

"Yes Master, thank you."

"...You can get off me now, unless you wanna sleep like this." I give a sly grin.

"O-oh, yes, I mean- no I don't want to…" Arturia gets flustered as she scrambles to get off of me. I get up as Minaki and Schellick come jogging up. Mordred comes up behind me, laughing, and slaps my back, almost knocking the wind out of me, "Hahaha, thank you for that, Master, I'll be sure to remember that!"

"Oh look at you boss, brave knight saving the princess!" Schellick jokes.

Everyone chuckles except for Arturia, who glares, annoyed, at Schellick. Minaki chimes in, "Well technically wouldn't the princess be Mor-"

"Minaki!" I interrupt, almost remembering too late about Mordred's "girl" complex. She stops and looks at me confused, and I glance at Mordred, who's eyeing her coldly. I shake my head slightly. Then I change subject.

"Alright, this place actually looks good enough for a camp for the night, let's set up and get some sleep, we've got a lot of shit to take care of tomorrow."

We all, except for Arturia and Mordred, pull out sleeping bags and find a good spot to lay them. I start issuing commands, "Schellick, you take first watch for two hours and then-"

"Oh, Master." Arturia pipes up, I look at her, "Mordred and I can keep watch tonight."

"All night?"

"Yes, as Servants we need not eat or sleep, we only need the mana that you provide for us, so we can stay up and keep watch while you get the rest that you need, Master."

"Hmm… alright then, if you're fine with it."

My Servants nod and I shrug as I get into my sleeping bag and set my alarm, falling asleep within a couple minutes... I get woken up at about 3am by the sounds of Arturia and Mordred quietly but heatedly bickering over something.

"...one's gonna sneak up on us, Father, it doesn't matter which way we face since-"

"An enemy attack could come from ANY direction, Sir Mordred, you should know that better than anyone."

"Wassat supposed to mean? Oh, oh I get it, hardy har. You know, it was your fault that I had to do that!"

"My fault!? I did everything I could to keep Britain safe from the Saxons, I don't see how wishing to protect my people at any cost would cause a rebellion."

"You don't get it, Father! You may have tried but you failed! Everyone knew it, no one respected-"

"Would you two just shut it already!" I interject.

Both my Servants turn to look at me, shocked that I had been listening and maybe a little guilty that they woke me up. Mordred starts to speak, "But Master-"

I interrupt her, "I said shut up, I don't care about what you two did during your lives, that's history, it doesn't matter now, I'm trying to focus on the here and now, so please try to do the same, that's an order!"

They both have their mouths open like they want to say something, but they slowly close them. "I'm gonna go watch the rear flank." Mordred mumbles angrily, she gets up and walks about 20 feet away from us to sit and watch on the opposite side of the makeshift campsite from where Arturia is. Arturia turns back around and watches out, and I can tell by her body language that she's sulking. I lay my head black down and go back to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

In the morning we pack up, change into civilian clothes, or as close as possible, and make our way to the house I rented, which we make it to after hiking through the forest for an hour and then walking a few miles through the suburbs near the city. After I talk with the landlord, a very polite middle aged Japanese man, and get our keys to our section of the house, we enter and assess what we've got to work with.

It's a traditional Japanese house, fairly large by today's standards, with an old layout but modern furniture. The entry way is small but opens up to a large living space, it has an attached kitchen on one side, a large dinner table and chairs for about eight people a few feet in from the doorway to the kitchen, which as a window in the wall so people in the kitchen can see into the main room and vice versa. The kitchen itself is small, with only enough room for one or two people to comfortably work.

At the other end of the main room is a large tv and home system set up on the wall opposite the kitchen, with two couches angled facing the tv and a large coffee table between them. There are four bedrooms, mine is closest to the kitchen on the side opposite the main entrance, and there is one other along the same wall, and then one on either side of the tv. We decide that Arturia's room will be next to mine, Mordred will take the far room on the other side of the tv, and Schellick and Minaki will both stay in the corner room between my Servants.

The bedrooms are very barren, there is simply one large mattress, about king size, in each room (except for Minaki and Schellick's which has two twin mattresses), on the floor in typical Japanese style, with clean white covers neatly made on the bed. I drop my bag in my room and everyone else does the same in theirs, and we meet up in the main room.

"Now what?" Schellick asks.

"Now… we go on a supply run. You stay here, get your commo equipment set up so we can start talking with HQ. I'll take Minaki and the blondes to get food and stuff, and…" I look at Arturia and Mordred, "some clothes that don't make us look like we just got back from a renaissance fair. Once that's done I'll try and find a car to rent, and later tonight I'll get a barrier made. Tomorrow we'll start looking for Servants and potential Masters, so do a layout of your weapons and ammo, and your mobility gear, tonight to make sure we've got enough."

Minaki says "Roger" and Schellick says "haah!" as he goes back into his room while Minaki and my Servants wait for me by the door. I go into my own room real quick to grab my wallet and M9 before we all exit the house and start our walk to a nearby shopping district.

…

The shopping district I plan on going to is a couple miles away from our house, it doesn't bother me too much to walk there since it's fairly early in the morning and we have all day to shop and get what we need. I want to find a mall or something similar to get modern clothes for Arturia and Mordred so that we don't draw unwanted attention whenever we go anywhere. I myself am wearing khaki cargo shorts and a plain black t-shirt with some simple sneakers, Minaki is wearing light blue skinny jeans and a white tank top under a black zip up hoodie, nothing extravagant.

On the way, we're walking on a fairly wide sidewalk, my Servants are on either side of me and Minaki is behind us, occasionally checking to make sure we're not being followed. I think about everything that we need, and everything I need to do once we get back to the house. I also think about nagging questions in my head, some of which I know I won't be able to answer, like what does the Holy Grail look like? Can it really grant any wish? Is it like a genie's wishes where there's a catch to every wish?

I think about my Servants, how I can best use them in combat. They're Sabers, so they excel against most other opponents, Saber is considered the strongest out of all the classes. They are particularly strong against Lancers, due to their great martial prowess in close combat, and Casters, because of their resistance to magic. I also have the benefit of having two Servants who know each other, so if I can get them to work together, then it would make them much more effective when it comes to using tactics.

Because my brain works in weird ways I begin to fall down a rabbit hole of thoughts that barely have anything to do with each other. I am the Master for King Arthur and Sir Mordred, both of whom are apparently female when every historical record ever says they were male. I haven't read any of the Arthurian legend recently but I remember that Mordred is Arthur's illegitimate son, born from Arthur's sister, Morgan Le Fay, when she enchanted him so that she could extract his seed from him. She then raised Mordred to kill King Arthur, and he eventually did, raising an army of Arthur's enemies and fighting his father in the battle of Camlann, where they killed each other. But since both of them are actually female, parts of that story don't make sense, so what's the truth?

"...Mordred?" I turn to look at her and get her attention as we continue walking.

"Yes, Master?" She looks at me.

"I was wondering… You call Arturia 'Father'... Why?"

She looks at me like I just asked her if the sky is blue, "Whataya mean?"

"Well, she is a female, so…"

"Yeah, I know that, but she is my father."

"But… That doesn't make sense… Really?" I turn and look at Arturia, confused.

"...Yes, Master, that is true, I am Sir Mordred's birth father." She looks at me for a moment, then looks away, and I notice her cheeks are slightly red.

"So… you're saying that even though you're a woman… That, uh… You, you have, uh, a…"

I don't need to complete my question, as Arturia finally understands what I'm getting at, her eyes go wide and her face goes even redder than before and she hastily tries to clarify, "Oh, no no! No I don't, um, h-have that. I believe I should tell the story in full. During my reign, I sought to have a child so that I would have a successor to the throne, but since Queen Guinevere and I were both women, that was impossible without an adulterous event occurring, and we couldn't have that happen or my reputation as king would be tarnished. But Merlin the Magician had a… rather off-the-cuff idea. He, well, temporarily… made me into a… "pseudo-man", if you will. I will spare you the details of what this means, as I'm sure that you can deduce what it might imply. But, before I could conceive a child with Lady Guinevere, my witch of a sister, Morgan Le Fay, cast a spell on me and enchanted me. Without my knowledge she took my seed and gave birth to the child, which was Mordred."

It takes me a second to wrap my head around that. So the real story is even more fucked up than the legend. "Huh, well then."

Mordred chuckles beside me, "Father, you should've just waited a couple years, by that time Sir Lancelot would've-"

"You will NOT speak ill of Sir Lancelot OR Lady Guinevere, Mordred, remember your place!" Arturia almost yells.

I speak up, "Alright, calm down Arturia. Mordred, don't instigate anything with her, not out in public, we don't need people wondering why there's people out in the street yelling about knights and castles and stuff."

Mordred starts to speak but thinks better of it, "Oh, oh yeah, yer right Master."

Arturia also says, "My apologies Master, I should not have gotten carried away."

We all stay silent for the rest of the walk.

…

We wander through the shopping district, eventually we decide to enter a clothing store that doesn't look like a designer store filled with overpriced rich person clothes. I decide to tag along with the women for a bit, since we have all day. We end up in a lingerie section, and as we walk, Minaki is ahead of me by a few feet, pushing a cart, looking up at the hanging signs for directions to different articles of clothing, and my Servants are walking slightly ahead of me on either side. I glance at a mannequin display with a couple different styles of lingerie on it, that two college-age japanese girls are standing by, chatting about something. One of the styles on display is a light blue bra and undergarments set with a white see-through blouse and white thigh high stockings.

 _Hmm, Arturia would probably look good in that._ I think for a split second.

I notice Arturia looking at the set around the same time I do, and as we pass it she stops and looks at it curiously. I stop after a couple steps and wait for her as Mordred and Minaki keep walking ahead of us.

Quick note: I am fluent in English, Japanese, Korean, German, and Arabic, a few languages that I had to pick up from my work. Servants are summoned with fluency in most major languages so that they can communicate with their masters, no matter who they are. I have my Servants speak Japanese in public to further decrease notice of us by those around us. Minaki is a first generation American, her father immigrated from Japan in the 90's and met her mother shortly afterwards, she was born a couple years later, and Japanese is like a second native language for her along with English. The only person in our group who isn't fluent in Japanese is Schellick, which is why I'll usually have him stay back at the house and have Minaki run errands for us if I have to.

So anyways, after Arturia examines the mannequin for a few seconds, she turns to me and says, in Japanese, "Master, you really think that this would look nice on me?" She asks this, devoid of any malicious intent, almost monotone, also a little loud, like it's a completely normal question to ask. I tense up slightly, embarrassed that she could read my thoughts, and I start to blush. The two girls standing by the display look at her, then at me, and start giggling uncontrollably, either from the question, or Arturia's use of the word "master", or from my blushing, or maybe all of the above. My blush deepens, and I can feel my face burning as I walk up to Arturia and grab her arm, leading her away from the display and the girls, trying to salvage the situation and my dignity by saying "Yes, dear, you'd look good in anything, but that looks a little too expensive to get right now, remind me around your birthday and I'll get it for you."

Arturia looks at me confused, her own cheeks starting to redden. Once we're a good distance away from the girls I tell her, "You probably shouldn't call me 'master' in public, since you're not my maid it'll give us a bit too much attention, just call me by my name when we're around people, it'll be easier. If you want to call me master when we're alone, that's fine."

Arturia looks at me with the same serious expression that she has on almost all the time, nods, and says, "Understood, Master."

We catch back up with Minaki and Mordred, and I feel a buzz in my pocket, fish out my phone, and look at the screen, I just got a text from Schellick.

-Hey boss, can you get me some clothes too while you're shopping for the blondes?-

I tell Minaki to take the Servants and go find a few outfits, I'll be getting clothes for myself and Schellick. She acknowledges and we separate, with me going to the men's section. As I wander through the racks I text Schellick.

-Yeah I'll get you something, what are your sizes?-

-Large top, regular/long pants, shoe size 11, dick size extra large-

-Alright, just so you know, we are in Japan so extra large dick size is like small for us-

-XD XD oh shit I forgot, make it XXXL-

-I'm not buying you condoms, asshat, but is there any kind of clothes you want in particular?-

-something that'll make the chicks fall all over me-

-hot pink romper, got it-

-fuck off! XD-

-XD XD XD-

I chuckle as I put my phone in my pocket and start searching for good civilian clothes to get for us. After 45 minutes I have a cart that I snagged about a quarter of the way full with shirts, jackets, shorts, jeans, a couple shoes and sandals. It's mid-summer so I'm not expecting to need any cold-weather stuff, a light jacket and jeans should be the heaviest stuff we need. I get another text, and this time it's from Minaki.

-Boss, I've got a few outfits for the servants, and some for myself. We've paid and we're gonna wait for you right outside.-

-Tracking, I just got done myself, and I'm about to go pay, I'll meet you outside.-

I make my way to the registers and use my government card to pay for the stuff in my cart. Minaki, Schellick, and I were given credit cards that function as blank checks for the purpose of buying mission-oriented things while we're here. Food and other essentials, mainly. If we wanted to buy a souvenir or something like that we'd have to use our own card or risk getting severely chewed out by a superior. I walk outside with several bags in hand and look around for my team.

I turn a corner and almost bump into them, and I do get surprised by their appearance. Minaki is in her same outfit as before, but my Servants' regular outfits are gone. Arturia is wearing a white long sleeve button up blouse with a blue bow-like necktie, as well as a blue knee-length skirt which ties together in the back with some lacing and a large bow, with black stockings and sandals. She also has a blue scarf wrapped around her neck and shoulders. Mordred has on a dark red leather jacket that stops just above her waist, and is open, revealing a white tube top that only covers her chest, having a small circular window in the top middle portion that shows a good amount of cleavage. Below that she has on some denim cutoff booty shorts held in place by a black belt, and some black high heeled punk boots.

Arturia's outfit is elegant and conservative, while Mordred's gives off a rebellious teen vibe, and while the outfits are exact opposites, they work together very well and make both women look very attractive in their own way. I look both of my Servants up and down, then look at Minaki and ask, "Minaki, are you like, a fashion designer on the side or something?"

She looks at me quizzically, "Huh? No, why do you ask?"

"Well, I mean… Damn!" Is all I can say about the outfits.

"Master, does that mean that you approve of this attire?" Arturia asks.

"Yeah, yeah, that'll work. It will definitely work."

"I'm glad, Master, I enjoy this outfit, it feels less restrictive than my other clothes."

"Yeah," Mordred chimes in, extending her arms and spinning in a circle, "I feel like I can actually breathe in this thing, maybe I'll wear this instead of my armor when we fight!"

I smile, happy that my Servants are satisfied with the outfits, though I am curious to see what other outfits Minaki picked out for them.

"Ok. Mordred, go with Minaki and you two get phones for yourself and Arturia, as well as groceries. I'll take Arturia and see if we can find a car to rent. Once we all get done I'll pick you guys up and we'll head back to the house for the day and get settled in."

Mordred says "Understood, Master." and Minaki nods, and we split up once again, and Arturia and I walk as I pull out my phone to find a car rental store or dealership nearby.


	5. Chapter 5

An hour later, I'm driving through Fuyuki with Arturia in a grey 2016 Toyota Highlander that I was able to rent. I've noticed that she's had a slight smile on her face the whole time we've been together.

"You seem to be in a good mood right now." I say.

"Yes, Master. I enjoyed myself while I was with Mordred and Miss Veronica picking out clothes to wear. I understand that shopping for clothes is a common activity that women of this era do with close friends and family, and while we did not speak much, Mordred picked out a few articles of clothing that are part of other outfits for me to wear, which surprised me."

"Why would that surprise you?"

"Because I previously thought that she hated me, and that she wanted nothing to do with me, but it seems I may be mistaken on that account."

"Hmm. Do you hate her?"

"No, I do not, I even said as much during our battle at Camlann. She was ranting and raving about why I wouldn't let her become king, why I wouldn't accept her as my child. She thought I despised her, but I told her that I never despised her, or hated her, I only thought that she didn't have the capacity to become king."

"...Yeah. When I summoned you two, I got an influx of memories from both of you. I think I remember something like that… Listen, my daughter is six years old, so I won't claim to know what you two are going through, your situation is definitely… unique, but I've lived long enough to know that the most important thing in any relationship is communication, so, I know it might be hard, but I need you and Mordred to talk to each other. I don't want your current relationship causing problems for us in the future."

Arturia nods, "I understand, Master, but I fear that attempting to reconcile with Mordred will simply push her further away, she doesn't take well to authority. And… I admit that something like this is beyond me, I never learned how to interact with people on such a personal level."

"That's alright, you don't have to worry about it too much, I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you, Master."

…

After picking up Mordred and Minaki, while testing out the car's stereo by blasting "Black Betty" by Ram Jam out the windows, we head back to the house and deposit all of our bags wherever they might need to go. Schellick, who is lounging on the couch taking a nap when we enter the room, had set up his commo equipment and laid out all of the rest of his gear on one end of the table, so I give him his clothes and BS with him while Minaki grabs her stuff to put on the other half of the table. I take a look at what we have to work with.

As the team leader and the Master for the Servants, I (officially) will not be taking a direct role in combat with the Servants, I'll be set up in a spot close to the battlefield where I can give orders and see what's going on. But, I was never much for sitting back and letting others fight for me, so I'll be damned if I'm not up with my Servants kicking ass if I can once it's been confirmed by the other Masters that I'm Saber's Master. Other than my mobility gear, I have a Beretta M9, and a Glock G17, both chambered in 9x19mm, a LAR Grizzly Mk. 1 chambered in .45 Winchester Magnum hollow point, and a Smith & Wesson Model 500 chambered in .500 S&W Magnum. I chose to only really have pistols and a revolver because, well, I like handguns more than rifles, I think they're more versatile and fun. My 500 is also a special weapon, meaning that it's only purpose is to kill enemy Masters. It does this through the use of what the Mage's Association calls "Origin Bullets." An Origin Bullet is effectively the essence of a Mage put into a bullet, and it only works if the bullet is being fired by the mage that it was made from, it works by "short circuiting" a mage's magical circuits, imagine having several major blood vessels simultaneously burst, and you bleed out internally in less than a minute, that's usually what happens when a mage gets hit or uses magic to stop one of those things. They made the bullets while we were still in England, by taking out a chunk of one of my ribs (no painkillers, no anesthesia, no nothing, it hurt like a son of a bitch) and ground it up and put it into the .500 S&W bullets that I use.

I have twelve of them, so I can afford to use up to two for every enemy Master if I have to. Minaki, as the sniper, has her own M9 as well as a Remington XM2010 chambered in .300 Winchester Magnum, with a Leupold Mk. IV ERT 6.5x20 magnification sight. The way I want to work this op is to limit human casualties, I understand that the point is to have the Servants fight each other, and once all the other Servants are dead, yours wins and you get the grail, but since the Servants are tied to this world by their Master, the easiest and quickest way to kill a Servant is to waste the Master and let them slowly disappear. But I have faith in my Servants' martial prowess, so I'm only going to kill another Master if they pose a direct threat to me, or if they've broken the rules of the war. If I do have to kill a Master, I'll let Minaki assassinate them from a good ways away to reduce risk to my team, and if that doesn't work then I'll get personal and execute them with my 500. Schellick is going to be my body double until it's common knowledge that I'm the real Master, so he's gonna be up with the Servants during combat to "command" and "heal" them if need be. Because of his proximity to other Servants, he chose a Benelli Armi SPA M4 Super 90 Semi-automatic 12 gauge shotgun, as well as a Beretta 93R 9mm machine pistol.

I have four 15 round mags for my two 9mm's, and four 8 round mags for my .45. Minaki has the same as me for her 9mm, and five 5 round mags for her sniper. Schellick has 40 shells for his shotgun, 10 of which are 12ga. #000 buckshot in blue shells, 10 are 12ga. Armor Piercing Slugs in clear shells, 10 are 12ga. "Terminator" rounds (buckshot on top of a hollow point lead slug) in black shells, and 10 are 12ga. Magnesium "Dragon's Breath" in red shells. He also has six 18 round mags for his pistol. We all also have a standard issue M4A1 with seven 30 round magazines chambered in 5.56x45mm NATO with a vertical foregrip, a Trijicon 4x ACOG sight, and a M4-2000 silencer, and a AN/PEQ-15 infrared laser pointer. We all also carry two smoke grenades, two flashbangs, and two frags. Our uniforms are all black instead of the regular army multicam to keep our affiliations secret. We all also have bandanas to cover our lower faces since the helmet visors only cover our eyes. My bandana has a skull on it because I like to be extra.

Okay, we're all good with equipment. I speak up while everyone is still in the main room. "Alright, Arturia, Mordred, could you come over here for a second… So, I've decided that we need to come up with a cover story for ourselves so that if someone asks us what we're doing here, since Minaki is the only one who can get away with looking like a local, we don't just stand there and say 'uuuuhh.' Um… We will all be on vacation, we all, except for Mordred, work for the DoD, we're accountants and financial advisors. Minaki, you've got grandparents that live here, which is why we came to Fuyuki. Schellick, you just started dating Minaki a couple months ago. Arturia, you've been dating me for about four months now-"

"Master," Arturia interrupts, "I don't think it's appropriate that-"

I hold up a hand to stop her, "I get it, I'm not saying we need to make out whenever we're in public, but it'll help explain why we're always together."

Arturia thinks for a second, then nods her head.

I continue, "Anyways, uh, Mordred, you are… Arturia's daughter, and you're on summer break after your first year of college, studying… History."

Mordred inhales at the word "daughter" as if she's about to say something, but as I finish she exhales and says "Alright." but still looks a little sullen at the idea.

I look around, "Anyone have a problem with that?" No one says anything, "Alright, cool. I'm gonna go out and set up a barrier around the house, once that's done it should be close to dinner time so we can go get some burgers or something. Minaki, I don't know what food you got with Mordred but you can cook it tomorrow for dinner before we head out and look for some dead people to beat up."

Twenty minutes later, I'm outside the house inscribing a rune in a wall. The nice thing about the house I chose is that it has a seven foot wall around the whole property, giving us a lot of privacy and a little security. I have my "spellbook" in hand and I'm etching a warning rune into the wall with my knife. I have to make a rune about every 30 feet along the wall, and I'm just finishing the last one. The way these runes work is if a being with a higher than normal amount of magical energy crosses the boundary it sets off an audible alarm. It also immediately detects any mages already inside the boundary once it's set, and denotes them as "safe", so the alarm won't go off for their signatures, and the alarm can only be heard by them, so once I finish, myself, my Servants, and Minaki will be able to know if anyone tries to fuck with us.

I hear footsteps behind me, and Minaki's voice saying, "Done, boss?"

"Almost… And… There… Whatcha need?"

"I was thinking, we should probably do a mana transfer ritual, since you've got two servants to worry about now, it might be more than you can handle by yourself once they start having to go all out."

I stand up and turn around, "Uh… Alright," I remember those being mentioned in one of my classes at the Clock Tower in London, but with everything else I was trying to learn it slipped my mind, "what do I have to do for that?"

"Nothing really, you just need to take your shirt off."

"Ooh, ok, I like where this is going."

"Shut up, this'll just take a minute."

I take off my shirt with a chuckle, and she places a hand on my chest and closes her eyes.

"Gib dem wandernden Vogel das Trinkwasser, der vom langen Weg kommt. Benutz den Vogelrahmen, in dem der schluessel nicht angewendet wird. Ich spinne den Regenbogen in neuem selbst. Heites Wetter, Regen, Wind, Schnee, Krieg, Ende, ununterbrochen. Nim an, ohne anderer Meinung zu sein, ohne zu fallen. Es nimmt an, ohne zu fuerchten, ohne zu Zwei feln. Sieg im Freund, der auf eine Reise Entfernt geht."

While she's reciting some spell, a blue light comes from her hand. I start seeing images of blue lines that weave together and form grids, I recognize these as symbols of magical circuits, because when a mage has to use a lot of mana for a spell, similar blue lines start tracing along their skin. I then see flashes of memories from Minaki. A girl hunting an elk with her dad, taking an oath of enlistment to join the army, lots and lots of headshots on Taliban and ISIS. The words she's speaking are almost gibberish, as most spells are, something about a bird and weather and victory.

When she finishes she opens her eyes back up, "Ok, done, that's the most basic mana transfer you can do, it should be good enough for what we need. Once you get down pretty low on mana because of your servants or your own spells, it'll start pulling from me."

"Cool, thanks." I say as I put my shirt back on and we head back inside.

…

Once I got done with the barrier it was about 1830, so we all decided to go get some quick dinner. Now we're standing in front of some registers at a McDonald's. Yeah, I know, we go all the way to Japan and the first thing we eat is McDonald's. If my mom were here she'd be strangling me, but since we all have stuff to get done we decided on something quick and familiar. I stand back and let Minaki and Schellick order what they want, and get a large Big Mac meal for myself. I turn around and see my Servants standing at the back of the ordering area, waiting for me and not even bothering to look at the menu. I almost ask them what they want, but then I remember that they technically don't need to eat, but in order to not look weird in public I order them a single burger and fries each.

Once our food is ready we sit down in a large corner booth at one end of the eating area. There are a good amount of other patrons in the restaurant, mostly families with small children and high schoolers probably just getting off of work. Minaki and Schellick are to my right, and Arturia and Mordred are on my left. I set my Servants' meals in front of them and say, "Here you go, if you want to try it."

They both look at the burgers still wrapped in paper, and the fries in their red and yellow box thing. I take a bite of my own burger and I can tell that Japan uses different ingredients than America, while the burgers and fries aren't as "sweet" or juicy from the oils put in them, the meat and vegetables taste more natural, of higher quality than normal. Arturia says, "Master, we don't have to eat or drink anything."

I nod, swallowing my mouthful of bun and beef and lettuce, "I know, you mentioned that before, and you don't have to eat if you don't want to, but you might like it, and if you two have physical bodies then it might take a little bit of the load off of me if you get your energy from some food rather than me." I keep my voice low to avoid any staring from the people near us. I take a quick look around the restaurant, moving my head more than I'd like to, I have on a pair of glasses with a small camera inside the frame, recording everything that happens, which I can turn on and off from an app on my phone. It's not officially a part of our loadout for this mission, but I've had it for a while and thought it would come in handy when conducting recon in civilian clothes.

My Servants unwrap their burgers and hold them up, looking at them, then at me. I watch them while munching on my fries, thinking that this would be a good moment to catch on camera. They both, almost at the same time, take a bite of their burgers. Their apprehensive expressions quickly turn to surprise, both their eyes widen after a few bites, Arturia blinks a couple times while Mordred exclaims, "Hohey Crah!" her mouth still full of food, a few small pieces falling from her mouth as she says this.

Schellick, Minaki, and I start snickering and laughing as the two start taking ravenous bites from the food, Arturia staring at the burger in awe and Mordred almost biting her hand in her primal haste to fill her stomach. Arturia states, "This food is delicious, Master! The food in Camelot was never this good!"

Mordred agrees after finishing her food, "Yeah, the stuff they gave us tasted like… Like… uh, nothing, I guess. Yeah, nothing! Master, can we have some more?"

I just noticed that whenever Arturia or Mordred say "Master" they pronounce it like "Mastah", I'm not too sure if it's from their accent or what, but it is kinda funny and cute… cute? Yeah, cute works I guess. I also just noticed that they still don't call me by my name in public, choosing always to say "Master." Oh well, it's not a big deal as long as we don't run into another Master while we're out and about.

I say "Yeah, sure, I'll go order you some more." I have them scoot out and I leave my half eaten burger and fries to get up and walk to the registers and order another two burgers. After I pay I walk back to stand by the table while I wait for the other burgers to be made. After a couple minutes the burgers are ready and I go and pick them up, having my Servants once again scoot out so I can get back in my seat. I place the burgers in front of them and look down to realize that my burger and fries are now gone. I hold my hands up in a what the fuck gesture and look back up to look around the table, Schellick is grinning like an idiot, barely holding in laughter, Minaki is finishing her food, and as I say "Where's my food?" I turn to see Arturia holding what's left of my Big Mac up to her mouth and Mordred about to stuff a handful of fries into her mouth.

Both of them freeze as I look at them, and Schellick finally lets out his laugh. Arturia blushes slightly as she says, "I apologize Master, I cannot help it, this food is simply amazing."

I shake my head and wave my hand, "Alright, whatever, go ahead and finish it." I turn to Schellick and Minaki, "So this is what it feels like when your girlfriend tells you she's not hungry and then eats all your fries." They both chuckle.

When Arturia and Mordred are done we toss all our trash and head back to the house, and after we finish getting set up we all go to sleep. The next morning, we are all sitting in the main area, everyone is watching tv while I am reading my spellbook. Well, it's not really a spellbook, or at least what most people would think when they think of a spellbook. It's more like a textbook, or an encyclopedia, containing general knowledge of different schools of magic, along with handwritten notes from me and others about specific spells. Magic itself is a very complex and confusing thing. It takes both logic and imagination to use effectively, since it is basically science, using mana, a form of energy, and giving it a somewhat physical form to accomplish a certain task. Magic is something that is hidden from most of the world but used every day, many famous scientists, mathematicians, and engineers were and are actually mages. Some types of magic are effectively just science, such as Alchemy, simply altering the physical form of objects. Other schools, such as Divination and Enchantment, are the most "magical" out of all the schools, utilizing techniques that require a vast amount of mana and accomplishing things thought impossible by most people. I am most familiar and skilled with Pyromancy and Biomancy.

Pyromancy could be considered a form of alchemy, since it is the creation and manipulation of fire, and fire is nothing more than a chemical reaction. It makes sense that I would understand fire since I was a firefighter quite a few years ago, before I joined the military. Biomancy is the manipulation of the physical body, healing wounds and creating, destroying, or altering living cells. I also excelled at this school as a former medic. I didn't have time to learn much more about other forms of magic in my short time with the Mage's Association, most of my training went into learning about the Holy Grail War and a few spells related to it that would help me and my Servants. I'm currently poring over a chapter in my book about Servants, and I come across some notes about Servant skills.

" _... All Servants are Heroic Spirits, the souls of deceased heroes, as the name implies. All of these heroes contain abilities and skills derived from their talents and exploits during life. They all also have attributes, levels of strength, stamina, endurance, magical capability, and agility that are graded by ranks from E to A relative to each other as well as regular humans (For Example, a Heroic Spirit with strength rank E would have the physical weight lifting capabilities slightly higher than the world's strongest bodybuilder, while a Heroic Spirit with rank A strength could very easily lift and throw weights in excess of 3,000 kilograms). During a Holy Grail War a Master has the ability, given by the Grail, to see any Servant's statistics. In order to see a Servant's 'statistics' a Master need only utter the phrase 'Ich sehe.' and once they are satisfied, say 'Halten.' Potential Masters, please note: only information that is known by the person casting the spell can be seen."_

Huh, I don't remember that from any of my classes. I mutter, "Ich sehe." and immediately my vision goes blurry as I look at my book on my lap. We're all sitting on couches, myself and the other regular humans on one couch, and across from us are the Servants, each on opposite ends of the couch. My vision gets so blurry that I can't even read my book even though it's about a foot or less from my face. I look up, confused and a little disoriented, and I look at my Servants. I can see both of them clearly, almost in more detail, like I had 20/15 vision or something. And on top of that there's… a panel over each of their heads, it's hard to describe, it's like in a video game when you look at a character and a little window pops up with information. I look at the one for Arturia.

 _Servant Class: Saber_

 _True Name: Arturia Pendragon_

 _A.K.A.: King Arthur, King of Knights, Altria Pendragon_

 _Origin: History/ Legend of King Arthur_

 _Homeland/ Region: England, Britain, Camelot_

 _Alignment: Lawful Good_

 _Gender: Female_

 _Height and Weight: 154cm (5' 0"); 42kg (97lbs.)_

 _Strength: B Agility: A Luck: D Endurance: A Mana: A Noble Phantasm: A++_

 _Class Skills: Magic Resistance A, Riding A_

 _Personal Skills: Charisma B, Instinct A, Mana Burst A_

 _Noble Phantasms: Avalon- Barrier, EX; Excalibur- Anti-Unit/Anti-Fortress, A++; Invisible Air- Anti-Unit, C_

The info panel gives detailed information on all skills, abilities, and Noble Phantasms of Arturia and Mordred, I'm guessing that I have access to everything since I'm their Master and have a bond with them. Most of Arturia's parameters are very high. As a Saber class she also has high magic resistance, which makes her less susceptible to any magical effects and reduces damage to her body from magical sources. She also has Riding, which is what allows her to use most vehicles with ease. She also has charisma, which allows her to more easily influence others with speech, and increases the combat capabilities of nearby allies, pretty much myself and Mordred. Instinct allows her to accurately predict the future, so she can more easily block, parry, and avoid blows from enemies, and even dodge arrows or bullets if she needs to. Mana burst will drain a good chunk of her mana reserves (and by extension mine) in order to give her a short but significant increase in strength and speed, that's what Mordred used when she was summoned to leap onto Arturia the way she did. Her Noble Phantasms are basically relics or unique abilities that she had in life that give her significant combat bonuses. Avalon is her scabbard for Excalibur, and it has the ability to instantly heal almost any wound, making the holder both immortal and near invincible. Her immortality in life from the scabbard explains her short stature and light frame. She received the sword when she was a young girl, and so even though she died in her early 40's she has the physical characteristics of a 15-ish year old girl. She gave me Avalon shortly after she was summoned, transplanting it into my body in its spiritual form, telling me that I need it more than she does as my survival as a Master is more important than hers. Her main Noble Phantasm is Excalibur, her sword, which when activated, according to both the Arthurian Legend and this information panel, draws upon the energy of the souls of all those who died fighting alongside her during her reign as King, releasing it all in one swing and devastating whatever her intended target is. It has the ability to destroy a castle or an entire army. Her final noble phantasm is a blessing from the lady of the lake, the manipulation of Invisible Air, basically she can manipulate the air around her to hide her sword, which she will do in combat, walk on water, or create a gust of wind that can clear smoke/fog or propel objects in a certain direction.

I then turn to Mordred.

 _Servant Class: Saber_

 _True Name: Sir Mordred Pendragon_

 _A.K.A.: The Knight of Treachery, Mordred_

 _Origin: History/ Legend of King Arthur_

 _Homeland/ Region: England, Britain, Camelot_

 _Alignment: Chaotic Neutral_

 _Gender: Female_

 _Height and Weight: 154cm (5' 0"); 42kg (97lbs)_

 _Strength: B+ Agility: B Luck: D Endurance: A Mana: B Noble Phantasm: A_

 _Class Skills: Magic Resistance B, Riding B_

 _Personal Skills: Instinct B, Mana Burst A, Battle Continuation B, Charisma C-_

 _Noble Phantasms: Secret of Pedigree- Anti-Unit (Self) C; Clarent- Anti-Unit C; Clarent Blood Arthur- Anti-Army A+_

Mordred's physical stats are nearly identical to Arturia's, since she is her child. She also has access to many of the same abilities such as magic resistance and riding, as well as charisma and mana burst. Her charisma skill is lower than Arturia's since it's actually given by her sword, Clarent, which was stolen rather than handed down legitimately, so her charisma skill only works well with threats, especially since Mordred isn't really that well spoken in the first place. She also has access to a skill called Battle Continuation, based around a curse that Morgan Le Fay placed on her. In the legend Mordred was cursed to slay King Arthur no matter what, so even when she was killed by Arturia, either she was kept alive long enough to deliver one blow, or her lifeless body was moved by the curse to strike her father down even without her say-so. Either way, this translated into her spirit form with a skill that allows her to keep on fighting despite suffering severe, fatal wounds, and gives her a higher than normal endurance, allowing her to shrug off attacks that even other Servants might recoil severely from. Her noble phantasms are her sword, as well as her helmet, the Secret of Pedigree, given to her by her mother to mask her identity while she infiltrated the Round Table. The helmet blocks anyone from seeing her stats and true name but only when she has it on, and if she wants to use her other Noble Phantasm, she has to take it off. Her final Noble Phantasm is Clarent Blood Arthur, a manifestation of all her rage at her father for denying her right to the throne. When activated her sword will spew out red lightning and devastate an area in a similar fashion to Excalibur's ability, but Mordred's is designed to destroy enemy troops rather than fortifications.

It's a little strange to think that even though we're fighting a war that can be life and death for some people, the whole thing is set up like a Role Playing Game, with classes and stats and skills. I examine both Servants' statistics for a minute and chuckle when I see similarities, like father like son, I guess. It also gives me small little tidbits about their personalities, their likes and dislikes, mannerisms, etc. but I've already gotten most of that just by being around them. Arturia is very posh and elegant, always behaving like a king, showing very little emotion, most likely because she doesn't know how, she's had to be all business and very serious since she was a young woman, and probably had no time for personal things. She seems to always feel the need to show others that she is important or of high standing, and she's very staunch and defensive about ideals that she holds dear, like honor and chivalry, ready to fight anyone who might say that she's wrong on a certain topic. She's almost like a robot, and now it makes sense why she told me to just treat her like a tool. Mordred on the other hand is like a rebellious teenager, she's crude and blunt, aggressive and self-righteous, she dislikes labels and being compared to others because in her eyes she's the greatest person that ever lived. She both hates and idolizes her father, she sees Arturia as the perfect human, a paragon of ideals and the most beautiful person to walk the earth, but despises Arturia's choice in not giving Mordred the throne that was her birthright as King Arthur's only, if illegitimate, son.

On the surface it may seem like Arturia and Mordred are polar opposites, but in reality they are very alike, not just physically but mentally as well. They both care deeply for the other as only a parent and child can, but have some grudges because of past wrongdoings, and they both desire recognition for their accomplishments, as well as holding up ideals of honor and glory, chivalry and bravery. My problem is trying to get them to see this so that maybe they can work well together and not constantly be at each other's throats. I think about all this as I mutter "Halten." and my vision returns to normal as I continue reading my book.


	6. Chapter 6

It just occurred to me how short Arturia and Mordred are, they're both exactly five feet tall, and weigh a ridiculously light 97 pounds. Now I'm not the tallest or strongest guy ever, but at six feet tall and 170 pounds of almost pure muscle, I not only tower over them, the top of their heads would maybe reach my nipple line, but if I wanted to I could lift them over my head and twirl them around. I also just had an idea, while reading about Mordred's Battle Continuation ability, can I as a Master, or a regular human, even harm a Servant? I know that all Heroic Spirits possess superhuman abilities so trying to fight one mano-a-mano would be suicide for most regular people, but my exo-suit has proven to at least make me fast enough to dodge most blows, but I've never landed a hit against Arturia in the one or two sparring sessions we've had. My fear is that Servants might be so resilient that most attacks that don't come from other Servants simply aren't powerful enough to cause physical damage.

"Mmm… Mordred?" I close my book and look at her.

She glances up from her phone, "Yeah?"

I stand up, "I want to try something and I need your help, come with me please."

She looks at me quizzically for a second, then stands and says, "Alright." and follows me as I go into my room. I close the door behind us and flip open my book, "Sorry, give me a second."

She flops down onto my bed on her back and holds her phone up in the air, watching some video on Youtube about a video game called Crusader Kings. I go through the pages in my spellbook until I find what I'm looking for, it's a simple sound barrier spell, when inscribed on a wall in a room, as long as there are no holes in a wall, no sound whatsoever will be heard from within the room to those outside. I trace the rune onto the wall with my finger, and once complete I call out, "Hey Schellick!" and wait.

About ten seconds go by with nothing, and the walls in this house are pretty thin so he would have easily heard me, so I just confirmed that my spell was successful. I turn and start fishing through my bag next to my bed, "Alright Mordred, I need to do a test and you're the best one to help me with this."

Mordred turns her phone off and sits up. "What are you testing, Master?"

"How tough are you?"

"Huh? Whataya mean? You know my stats right? I can guarantee I'm tougher than all the other Servants except _maybe_ Berserker. And that's a pretty big maybe."

"So you're saying that you won't cry if you get hurt?"

"Hah! I'm almost insulted, Master! Only a baby cries when they feel pain, a true warrior never shies away from becoming stronger through pain, and a king never lets weaknesses show!"

"Cool, so you'll let me cut you then?" I say as I turn around holding my M-9 bayonet/ combat knife.

"W-Wait, what?" Her eyes go wide in surprise and shock as she jumps up and takes a step away from me, "why would you n- need to do that? Are you serious?"

"Yes, I need to test and see if it's even possible for a regular human to damage a Servant with conventional weapons. Don't worry, I'm not gonna lop off your hand, I'm just gonna give you a little nick to see if it works. Besides, you _are_ a pretty tough Servant, something like this would be nothing, right?"

"Well yeah, I knew you wouldn't actually hurt me badly, but… Just because I'm not scared of pain doesn't mean I want to get hurt!"

"Will you do it or not? Or do I have to use one of these?" I give a sly grin as I wave my hand with my command seals.

"You wouldn't do something so stupid as to waste that on something so stupid."

I think for a second about how weird that sentence sounds. "Maybe I would, I've already wasted one, and I've done some pretty stupid things in my life, this'll just be one more."

Mordred narrows her eyes, then starts to chuckle, then laugh. "Heh, hehehehahaha! I like you Master, you've got guts, I know you'd never use a command seal on this, but I'll go along with it, fine, do it." She sticks out her arm, and I take hold of her wrist. Her skin is soft, just like the skin of every other female I've ever had to touch, God did something right when He made women. I place the tip of the knife against her forearm, and I press down so that the blade goes into her skin about half an inch.

I watch Mordred's face as I do this, she's watching the knife intently, and as I press the blade down she flinches ever so slightly. I pull the knife out and a second later a small trickle of blood comes out from the wound and starts running down her arm. "Did that hurt?" I ask her.

"Tch, of course not, like you said, Master, that was nothing!"

"I know it didn't hurt a lot, but did you feel any pain at all?"

"Oh… uh… yeah, I guess, I mean it wasn't too bad, I've had worse." She almost mumbles.

"Yeah, being run through with a lance probably would be worse."

"Shaddap!" Mordred has a very strange way of saying "shut up." She gives me a "playful" punch to the shoulder that makes me take a step back from the sheer force of it.

We both chuckle as I place a hand over her incision and mutter a couple words in Latin, a faint blue light appears from my hand and her bleeding stops. "There you go, thanks for your cooperation." I wipe the rest of the blood off her arm, and we leave the room. I jot down some notes in my book that Servants can in fact be harmed by regular people.

…

Later that night we're having a homemade dinner that Minaki and Schellick made, it's like a chicken stir fry, and it's very good. My Servants are eating their food with the same gusto that they showed last night, and by the time I grab second helpings for myself Arturia is finishing her seconds and Mordred is halfway through her third serving. Luckily there's enough for everyone to have three servings.

Minaki is watching her laptop while we eat, normally I wouldn't allow any electronics while we eat, I feel that it's a little rude, but we've got all our computers hooked up to the city CCTV, so that we can watch and possibly find enemy Masters and Servants if they happen to be out and about. Earlier I consulted a charter I… acquired from the Clock Tower library of prominent mage families in Fuyuki City, and a couple family names stood out. Fuyuki is home to the Tohsakas, Matous, and the Einzberns.

All of those families have participated in a Holy Grail War before, this one is the fourth. The Tohsakas specialize in gem magecraft, in which a spell is transcribed into a gemstone and released upon the usage of an activation word or command. The head of the Tohsaka household is a man named Tokiomi, who is well thought of by the Mages Association, and the most likely Master if that family is once again taking part in the War. The Matous are a very reclusive family, not much is known about them, only that they use insects in their magecraft, not too sure how that works, and their family head is a very old mysterious man named Zouken, so if they have a Master, I'm not too sure who it would be, as most of the family doesn't practice magic anymore. The Einzberns are a family of Germanic descent that specializes in the creation of Homunculi, but they most likely don't have a Master, as the only living descendant, a woman named Irisviel, married a man named Kerry Emiya a few years ago, and shortly afterwards they left the house, or mansion, or castle, in the woods on the western side of the city, and never returned, but the land never went up for sale.

We're still trying to find the Matou residence, but there's nothing in the city records of the family owning a house, strangely enough, but we were able to find the Tohsaka residence and are watching it. While we're eating Minaki is glancing at the cameras on her screen, and at one point she stops and looks intently at the screen for a second, "Boss, take a look at this."

I get up and peer over her shoulder as she points to one of the half dozen camera views on the screen. I watch and see that it's a camera that is on a lightpost across the street from the Tohsaka residence's backyard. The family has a large fountain in the backyard that has a gemstone on top of it that most likely acts as a catalyst for their barrier around their property. I see a woman walking up to the family's fence/hedge, luckily the camera feed is in color and I can see that she has very pale skin and white hair, and has a strange pointed headdress on, and she is wearing an elaborate red dress as well as a masquerade mask that I can just barely make out as she glances around.

She carries a strange scepter, and her entire outfit has images of bats on it, and as she de-materializes and re-materializes on the other side of the fence, my suspicions that she's a Servant are confirmed, I'm guessing she's either Caster or Assassin. She strides forward confidently, and taps the air with a ridiculously long nail on her finger, and the air shimmers to reveal some kind of near-invisible barrier system with spheres, cylinders, and cones that swirl around the fountain, most likely some kind of alarm system. The woman carefully walks forward and sideways, never losing the regal posture that the has had on the whole time, avoiding the traps as she reaches the fountain and reaches up to grab the stone.

Once her fingers touch the gem, from off-screen a spear darts toward her like a bullet and skewers her hand, pinning her to the fountain. "Whoa." I mutter. She looks up and about two seconds later she gets ripped apart by an array of weapons that fly towards her from the roof of the house, mostly swords and spears, but I think I see a couple halberds, axes, and arrows. By this time everyone is crowded around the computer, and as the woman, or what's left of her, disappears in a cloud of golden dust, we all step back and sit back down.

"Hmm, well that's one down I guess." I muse.

"Yeah, only 11 more to worry about, woo!" Schellick says a little sarcastically.

"Then that means that the War has officially started, Master." Arturia says.

"Yeah, but… It's weird… I know that the War has basically just started, and someone had to be the one to make the first move, but… something's not right. I would've expected such a bold attack right off the bat from Berserker or maybe Lancer, but from the looks of it that was either Caster or Assassin that just got pulverized. Now we know that one Servant is dead, the Tohsakas are definitely in, and they most likely have Archer as a Servant, based on the method of attack, but her Master probably doesn't know any of this unless they were right there and I don't see anything on the cameras. it's almost like the Master of that woman just sent her out there to die…"

As I finish my thought I feel a buzzing in my pocket and I fish out my phone to find a number I don't recognize calling me. I'm tempted to ignore it, thinking it's maybe a telemarketer, but I answer it anyway. I put the phone on speaker so everyone else can hear it.

"...Hello?"

"Hello, this is Risei Kotomine," a very old sounding man responds, "I am the Father of the Holy Church here in Fuyuki, I believe that I am speaking with the Master of Saber, yes?"

I glance around, everyone is looking at me, "...Yes." How did he get this number?

"Very good, I would like to inform you that I am the mediator for this Holy Grail War, should you need anything from me, you need only ask. I would also like to inform you that the Servant Assassin has been slain, and their Master is currently taking refuge with the church, and no action against them will be tolerated at this point."

"Alright, as long as they don't try anything with me."

The man chuckles, "Oh don't worry, my boy, I will make sure that nothing untoward happens, I wish the blessing of God upon you in this War."

"Thank you, Father, may He bless you as well."

*Click*

I put my phone away and scratch my head, growling a little.

"Is something wrong, Master?" Mordred asks, her hands behind her head, leaning back in her chair.

"Yeah, I had thought that every Master had two Servants like me, but that may not be the case. But at the same time, that priest just said that the Master of Assassin is out of the game, but each Master should obviously play to the strengths of their Servants, so Assassin will stick to the shadows and use trickery and guile to wait until the perfect opportunity to strike. That tactic that we just saw seemed so unlike what any rational person would do with a Servant like that... This is gonna take a little getting used to, this isn't a standard war like what you," I motion to my Servants, "and I are used to, there aren't too many rules with this war, and everyone is gonna be doing whatever they can to get any advantage over the other Masters. So we should be wary and keep assuming that all other Masters have two Servants as well, and keep an eye out for Assassin or his Master, and smoke 'em if we find 'em."

We decide to call it a night after that, I need to process the new circumstances and do a little more research and studying before I feel ready to go out and pick a fight. Mordred isn't too happy with the idea, but I promise that we'll go out and patrol tomorrow night. We all retire to our rooms, and I fall asleep propped up against one of the walls of my room somewhere around midnight with my laptop and a couple spellbooks in my lap.

…

The next morning I'm going over notes that I wrote down about some kind of telepathy that Servants and Masters have, so when I finish my breakfast, I sit at the table and look in the direction of Arturia's room. I woke up a little early, it's about 7:30 in the morning, so I'm the only one up right now, and I focus my thoughts onto Arturia and think.

 _"Arturia, can you come out to the living room real quick?"_

A few moments later and the door to her room slides open and she walks out in her usual attire, asking, "Yes Master, what do you need?"

"Oh sweet, it worked!"

"What worked, Master?"

I focus my thoughts once more, _"This."_

She blinks a couple times, "What is that Master?"

"Some kind of telepathy that we can use because of our Servant-Master bond, apparently I can send you thoughts and messages with my mind as long as I'm within a couple miles of you."

Arturia nods, thinking about that, "Ah yes, that could be useful should we be separated."

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing." _"Mordred, could you come out here?"_

A minute or two passes and Mordred finally emerges from her room, her hair is down and she's wearing an oversized t-shirt that looks suspiciously like one of the ones I bought for myself, I have no idea how she got that. She rubs her eyes and asks a little groggily, "Whataya need, Master?"

 _"I was just testing out my newfound telepathy."_

Mordred winces as I talk into her head, "Ahhhhh! Don't do that, Master! It sounds like you're right behind me whispering into my ear, it feels weird."

"Sorry, but I plan on using it during emergencies when we're out and wanted to make sure it works, if something goes down while we're around people, or if I need to keep myself hidden, we should use it. Oh by the way, you two should try it."

They both look at me intently for a second,

 _"Understood, can you hear me, Master?"_

 _'Alright, what am I supposed to say?"_

I hear both of them almost simultaneously talk, it's weird, I feel myself tense up and get all tingly because like Mordred said, it literally sounds like they're right behind me, talking with their mouths an inch or less from my ear, it reminds me of those ASMR videos that I sometimes watch, I feel goosebumps go down my neck and arms.

"Oooh, ho, oh man, oh that was weird, ok, oh man, yeah I see what you mean Mordred, let's use that sparingly… Hey Mordred, where'd you get that shirt?"

She looks down at the plain white large t-shirt she's wearing, then back up at me, "It was just sitting on the couch the other night, and I needed something to sleep in, so… I took it."

"Mordred! You know that you should not just take things without asking permission! I had thought that stealing was beneath you!" Arturia scolds Mordred.

"Well it's not stealing if Master didn't want it, and obviously Master didn't want it or need it since he didn't ask for it as soon as it went missing!"

"That doesn't matter, you shouldn't just take what's not yours! You give that back to Master this instant, Sir Mordred!"

"Fine, but just know that I'm only doing it because it's Master!" Mordred starts to take off the shirt, pulling it up.

My eyes go wide as I see her black panties and bare stomach and I immediately look down before I see anything that I probably shouldn't and hold a hand up, my eyes locked onto my right leg, "Ah! Uh, um, Mordred, you can keep the shirt, it's not a big deal, I uh, was just wondering, I don't need it. But, if you do need anything else in the future, just let me know and I'll get it to you as soon as I can. The same goes for you too Arturia." I wave my hand in the general direction of Arturia.

"Oh, uh, thanks Master," Mordred mumbles, "Um... Why are you looking down?"

"Is your shirt down?"

"Yes."

I look back up, my face starting to heat up a little. "I was looking down, so that I would not see your body."

Mordred's cheeks redden as she thinks about this for a moment, "So… am I ugly to you then? Is that why you don't want to look at me?"

Oh no, oh fuck, oh damn it. What the hell am I supposed to say here? I definitely wouldn't call Mordred ugly, in fact it's quite the opposite, I find both her and Arturia very beautiful and attractive, not just their physical characteristics, but also their personalities, which are starting to grow on me and become cute and endearing to me. But, even though I'll admit that their physiques are what I personally would look for in a woman, I haven't had any real sexual fantasies or desires for either of them, not that I'd mind… no, no, no. I'm their Master, and I'm also kind of their commanding officer, though I'm sure that from their point of view they both outrank me, so any kind of relationship with them is a no go, and besides, they'll only be here for the duration of the War. Once it's over, they're gone and I'll never see them again... Wait, doesn't that also mean that they can't get pregnant? Damn it, I need to stop thinking sometimes.

Now the real problem is trying to say this in a tactful way so that neither of them get mad at me. I start talking a little slowly, picking my words carefully, "Uhhhh, n- no… Um, shit… Well, no, I don't think you're ugly, in fact I think that you, Mordred, and yes, you too Arturia, are an attractive person, and it is because of that physical attraction that I don't want to look upon your bare body, because I feel that it would disrespect you as a knight, and a king, to look upon you with lustful eyes. Also, it would undermine our mission if I was unable to restrain myself from thinking of you as nothing more than an object of desire."

This is not good, my face feels like it's an inch away from a bonfire and I can see that the same thing's happening to my Servants. Arturia says, "Master, that was… Well worded, I thank you for your… attempts at purity."

Mordred looks very confused, she looks at me with a weird, almost slightly disgusted face, like she doesn't know how to handle this. "So you think I'm, uh, we're… pretty?"

I tilt my head back and gaze at the ceiling before closing my eyes, I inhale, then exhale, "...Yes."

"Even though we don't have very… womanly figures?"

Why are we even having this conversation? It takes me a second to realize what she means by that, and when I do, I laugh. "Heh, heh heh hehehe, hahahahahaha!" With my eyes still closed I put my head back down, "Large breasts fill a man's hand," I put my hand up in a clawed grabbing motion, "Small breasts fill a man's heart." I place my hand over my chest.

I then hear Schellick's ridiculous laughter from inside his and Minaki's room. I yell, "Get the fuck out here Schellick!" He does, giggling like an idiot. "How long were you listening?" I question him.

"Well, I was trying to sleep but you motherfuckers were being so damn loud I got woken up sometime when you two," he points at my Servants, "were arguing about a shirt, and I tried to sleep a little longer but I decided to stay up when things got interesting." He chuckles some more as he walks towards the kitchen.

Both my Servant's faces are red and while Mordred eyes him coldly, growling a little, probably imagining a few ways to punish him, Arturia says to him, "It is rude and unbecoming to eavesdrop and gossip, it gives rise to suspicion of treason."

"My apologies your highness, but just be glad I didn't record it." He turns and gives a comical bow.

Arturia's eyes blaze, "How dare you address me in such a manner!"

At the same time Mordred strides forward, even going so far as to summon her sword in one hand, "How dare you disrespect my Father by mocking her!"

I jump up and try to get between my Servants and Schellick, he now has pure fear in his eyes, and is backing away almost as fast as they are advancing on him. I place my hands on my Servants' shoulders and push slightly, trying to stop them, "Alright, everyone just calm-"

Mordred grabs me by my collar and tries to shove me to the side, "Outta my way, Master!"

I latch onto her arm with my left hand so that she can't completely throw me, and I raise up my right hand, "Mordred! Don't make me use this, I will!" My weight throws her off balance slightly so she stops and looks at me for a second, her eyes full of anger.

"Fine." Her sword disappears in a flash of lightning and she lets go of my shirt collar. I speak up, "Alright, Arturia, Mordred, let's just simmer down and cool off, and Schellick, quit being a smart ass all the time. Show these two the same respect you'd show a general."

"Y- yeah boss, sorry guys, I… heh… sometimes I don't know when to shut up."

Mordred starts walking back to her room, "I hated the court jester we had at Camelot too, he masqueraded as a mage." She closes the door to her room with an audible slam.

Arturia also goes back to her room, and Schellick says, "Oh man those two are scary, I think I pissed myself."

We both chuckle, I hear Mordred's voice, _"It serves him right."_ and I chuckle some more, "It serves you right, jackass."

Later that day, it's around 1630 and we just finished an early dinner, Schellick and I are watching CCTV on our computers while Minaki is putting together her rifle, and my Servants are on the sofas, Arturia watching the news and Mordred playing with her phone, again. She really likes that thing, I've noticed that if she can be on it, she is on it. I pause for a couple minutes to see what's on the news, and right now the anchor is talking about some recent kidnappings of children. Apparently there's some sick fuck who's been killing children, four or five have been found sliced apart in the last year, and it looks like the serial killer has started taking the kids instead of just killing them in their houses, around a dozen kids have disappeared in the last month.

As I watch, I start to get angry, clenching my fist so hard it almost hurts. There are very few things that can make me angry: Making a serious threat against my family or friends, harming a child, or telling me to my face that my faith in God is fake. Children are innocent and pure, they are God's favorite people, and as a father my response to the news is magnified, imagining that my daughter could be one of those children. I really hope that I run into that bastard while we're here, if I had just a minute with him I'd make him suffer and wish he was dead.

Out of nowhere and for no real reason Mordred and Arturia both jump like someone scared them, then they both look in the same direction. I follow their gaze as best I can but they're looking right at a wall. "The hell is going on?" I ask.

Neither of them speak for a few seconds, finally they look at me and Arturia says, "The… Shipping yard…"

"Huh?" I'm very confused.

"We just heard… It must have been another Servant, he said to meet at the shipping yard, that is all."

"Huh, I didn't know y'all could communicate like that." I say as I pull up a map of the city, finding the only shipping yard in the city fairly easily. It's on the north-eastern edge of the city, at the mouth of the… Mion River, very few other buildings of any kind nearby, it makes sense that we'd do battle there.

"Neither did we, Master, it's probably not something we can just do whenever." Mordred says.

"Ok… I think I see the shipyard, we'll wait until a little later when it's dark and head out."

"I guess that saves us the trouble of having to find them." Minaki chimes in.

"Yeah, true, though I did want to scout out the city a bit more before we started combat. Oh well, let's start getting ready. We'll head out around 2100."

…

We drive towards the shipping yard, the trip takes about 15 minutes, it's now dark outside, with few cars on the streets. I play some Shinedown through the car to pump myself up a little bit more. "So when we get there, Arturia and Mordred, get your armor on, I don't know if there'll be a sneak attack so we have to be prepared for combat at any time. Once we meet the other Servants I'll let you two do your thing, if you get injured I'll heal you as best I can. Schellick, you stay on the ground with them, we want any other Masters to think that you are Saber's Master so that I can help the Servants without being targeted. I'm gonna try and get a good overwatch position once we get contact so I can see what's going on. Minaki, there's a large crane on the south-western part of the yard, get on top of it and you should be able to see the whole yard."

Everyone acknowledges my breakdown of what we're doing and a couple minutes later we pull into a parking lot across a street from the shipping yard gate. We get out and open up the trunk, grab our weapons while the Servants materialize their armor and weapons. Arturia hides her sword behind a veil of mist and swirling air, and Mordred puts her helmet on.

Schellick breaks the lock on the chain link gate and slides it open, and we go inside. Minaki immediately breaks away from us and heads to the crane I pointed out earlier. I stay a few feet behind my Servants and Schellick as we move through the yard, eventually we get to a spot in roughly the middle of the yard, an open lane between two rows of stacked shipping containers. The lane is well lit, multiple lamp posts set up on either side of the lane, providing enough light that we don't need to use our night vision. "Boss, I'm in position and I can see you." I hear Minaki's voice through my earpiece.

"Roger, any other activity?" I say quietly.

"Negative, I'll keep you updated if I see something."

"I am glad you made it here, it seems that everyone else decided to stay away, fortifying themselves. Only you had the valor to answer my challenge." We hear the voice of a young man speaking as he emerges from between some connexes. He wields two spears, both wrapped in purple cloth. He has black hair, and wears a green leather sleeveless suit, on one arm he has a black sleeve that extends from about halfway down his bicep to his wrist, and on the other he has a thick leather pauldron and vambrace, both a slightly darker shade of green than the rest of his outfit. He also has brown faulds belted on, and black sleeves on his legs over his lower leather, and he appears to have some metal plates on his feet that are built into his suit, making boots. His physique is similar to mine, tall and skinny, but he's also a lot more muscular than I am, and he's also very handsome.

Before anyone can say anything else, I hear Minaki say, "Boss!"

"What?"

I see a tiny symbol pop up in my peripheral vision and a tiny pinging sound in my ear, and I recognize the symbol as the suit's proximity warning. If it detects an incoming projectile or something behind me, the symbol pops up. Minaki yells, "Down now!" and I echo it. Schellick and I drop to a prone position and a quarter of a second later my Servants drop to their knees.

Over our heads, from behind us, a horse comes out of basically nowhere and lands in front of us, galloping to stop and turn beside the spearman. The horse itself is white, covered in plates of armor on its head, neck, chest, and rear. Upon it sits a person, in full plate armor that is curved like jousting armor, they wield a light blue lance that has a woven texture to it, and on their armor they have a blue coattail and loincloth, as well as what appears to be a lion's mane cape and helmet decoration. Their helmet also resembles a lion's head.

We all stand back up as the man with the spears says, "Ah, there you are. Anyways, I believe it would be safe to assume that you are Saber?"

"We are," Arturia responds, "and you would be Lancer?"

"Correct, it is a shame that we cannot state our true names, as should be custom in duels such as this, but alas, 'tis our fate as Servants." Both he and the horseman look intently at Arturia and Mordred. After a moment, Arturia tenses up slightly.

"Charm magic?" She questions.

The spearman chuckles and brings one of his spears up to rest on his shoulder. "Something I have no control over, sadly. I have been cursed since birth with a face that causes women to fawn over me. I can see now that the magic resistance of the Saber class is truly remarkable."

I move up to stand beside Schellick, who is a couple feet behind my Servants. "Wish I had that." He mutters. Arturia speaks up, "Surely you were not hoping to gain an easy victory by striking me down while I refused to attack you."

"On the contrary, it would have bored me to no end, and disgraced me as a knight to strike down an opponent in such a way, I am glad that my first opponent is one with such high fortitude."  
All of the Servants are now in a ready position, waiting to either attack or receive an attack. Mordred speaks up, "Oh, so you actually want a fair fight? Good for us then, I'll be happy to defeat an opponent who actually has some pride!"

The spearman laughs, "Haha, excellent, en garde, Saber."

Mordred mutters to Arturia, "Father, I'll take the one on the horse, you can have the dual-wielding womanizer."

Arturia nods her agreement, and they both take a step forward and use a mana burst to shoot towards the Lancers, and the battle begins. The first clash between Arturia and the spearman shows the power and skill that Servants possess, the force of their blows creating gusts of air and the sheer pressure of them bracing their feet to receive a blow cracks the ground that they stand on. Mordred meets the horseman and begins slashing and jabbing at the rider, who deftly blocks and parries the attacks even though a lance is definitely not designed for such close quarters combat. The horse also assists the rider, almost working in tandem with the rider and dancing around in a way that I've never seen a horse do before. The Servants continue their skirmish, fighting for about 20 seconds at a time and then breaking apart to size each other up and look for a possible weakness. All of them are obviously masters with their chosen weapons, especially Arturia and the spearman, few people could wield two spears at once with the grace and control that he does and still deliver such powerful blows, and fewer people still could so expertly counter such attacks and adapt to such an exotic method of attack the way Arturia does.

I say to Schellick, "I'm gonna get up on top of those containers at about your two o'clock, stay here and see if you can find Lancer's Master, he's gotta be nearby." He nods slightly as I slink behind the containers and use my grapnel system to get up on top of the containers, maybe 30 feet off the ground. Once I'm up, I have my M4 in my hands and I watch the battle. The raw destructive capabilities of a Servant are shown very well here, even though they've only been fighting for a minute or two, there's all kinds of cracks and cuts in the ground, and a few containers have been severely dented and collapsed from the blunt force of a weapon hitting it because of a missed or redirected attack.

At one point the horseman charges Mordred, and due to their positions she is unable to parry the lance, so she's forced to grab it with one hand just above the tip, and hold on as she's pushed back about twenty feet, her feet digging into the concrete and creating indentations as she screams "Damn you!" and swings at the rider's arm holding the lance. The rider barely moves their arm back in time and the sword cuts through their armor and grazes their upper arm, causing a small trickle of blood to drip down their armor. In another moment, Arturia and the spearman are exchanging blows, and Arturia catches one of his spears, and so he tries to trip her with the other, but she jumps over it and flips in the air, landing on her feet and managing to block his next few attacks, but the sheer force of them causes her to stagger back, opening them both up again. He taunts her, "Come on, Saber! Show me what you can do!" And she does, a few blows later, they separate again and I see him wipe some blood off of a cut on his face. He probably can't attack her the way he wants to since he has no idea how long her sword is because she's concealing it.

As I watch, I hear Minaki, "Boss, I think I've got a visual on Lancer's Master. He's on the roof of the warehouse to your three o'clock."

I look, "I don't see him, I'm too low. Do you have a good visual?"

"Not really, I can see part of him but most of him is behind a vent or something, I can just see one of his shoulders, and his cloak."

"Roger that, keep an eye on him."

In the time that this has gone on, the Servants have once again all separated and are sizing each other up. In the silence that follows, one of the containers gives way and collapses from the weight of the one on top of it, causing a loud echoing metallic bang.

The spearman speaks up, "I suppose there's no honor at stake when we have not even said our names. But know that you have my respect, both of you, I have not seen you even break a sweat, and whether or not you are a woman, that is impressive. I'm sure my accomplice here would agree with me." The horseman nods once wordlessly.

Arturia speaks, "You are too modest, Lancer. Regardless of whether I know your name, to receive such a compliment from a master spearman such as yourself, the honor is mine."

Mordred pipes up, "Yeah, you're definitely not pushovers, this is getting fun!"

Suddenly we hear a voice from all around us, most likely amplified with magic, _"Enough playing around, Lancer. Stop dragging things out. Saber is a strong opponent, finish them quickly. You may use your Noble Phantasm."_ That voice sounds familiar. I'll analyze it later, I've got a helmet camera recording everything, as well as the one on my suit.

The spearman smiles, "As you wish, Master." He drops one of his spears and holds the other in front of him, the cloth around it dissipates to reveal that the spear is made from one whole piece of some red metal. He twirls it around a couple times, "Well, you heard him, from this point on, We'll be fighting to kill… Saber, you use wind magic to conceal your sword, correct?"

Arturia straightens up, her answer obvious from her response to the question. He continues, "I see now, you must have a reason to keep your sword hidden. As if the sight of it would reveal your identity."

Mordred says, "What's it to you, huh? You'll be dead before you ever get to see it!"

The spearman starts walking forward towards Arturia confidently, "I wonder… Yes, I believe that I can lift the veil from your invisible sword, Saber." He lunges forward, and Arturia catches his spear with her sword, which creates a gust of wind, it looks like the air and mist around her blade is being swept away explosively, and the lower part of the blade is able to be seen. After a second Arturia backs off, her eyes wide in shock. "There it is, your precious sword." The spearman grins. He continues to lunge and jab at Arturia, and she decides to dodge his attacks instead of blocking them in order to keep her sword, and by extension her identity, a secret. While she is able to avoid all of his attacks, a couple come very close as she bends and twists her body, rolling and ducking and weaving to not get hit. This only works for so long until she's forced to start blocking again. She tries to swat away all of Lancer's attacks, but once again their weapons lock together and the full glory of Arturia's golden sword is revealed.

While all this is going on, Mordred and the horseman are once again going at it, Mordred trying to be more aggressive and get in as close as possible where a lance would be completely useless, but the horse and the rider are extremely skilled at keeping her just far enough away that she has to worry about the lance's point and the horse's front hooves. She grunts and screams in frustration as she bats away the series of swipes and stabs from the horseman. Meanwhile, Arturia and the spearman separate, and in order to avoid his slashing attack she jumps off the side of one of the containers as his spear carves through it like it's paper. She lands behind him and he once again twirls his spear around him in a flourish that can barely be seen by the human eye. "I have the full measure of your blade," he says, "It no longer matters if I can see it or not!"

He once again lunges forward, jabbing at Arturia in typical spearman fashion, keeping just out of reach for her to counterattack. She hastily backs up and gets distance away from him. She closes her eyes and focuses as he crouches down and starts charging her. She raises her sword above her head and behind her, ready to deliver a powerful blow, and starts walking forward. It looks like she's gonna try and deflect the strike with her armor and cut him down, that must be her instinct ability kicking in. As they meet she dodges slightly to one side but something goes wrong and the spear grazes her side, a spray of blood shoots out from her and she parries his follow up attacks while she backs off, obviously surprised.

 _"Master!"_ I hear her voice in my head.

 _"I got you."_

I close my eyes and focus on her, and her injury that I saw, and I mutter a couple magical words. A blue light radiates from her side where she was injured.

 _"There you go, you're good now, what did you do?"_

 _"Thank you, I am unsure, Master, I thought that my armor would protect me."_

She feels her side, the spearman stops and puts the butt of his spear on the ground, smirking. "I should've known you wouldn't let me win so easily." he says.

 _"My armor is untouched, it's as if the spear simply passed through it… Of course! My armor is just a magical barrier."_ "I understand now, I've discovered your spear's ability, Lancer. That red spear severs magic, doesn't it?"

He chuckles, "So, your armor is just a magical barrier then? I hope you weren't relying on it solely to see you through this battle, Saber."

In the meantime, Mordred has broken away from the horseman and has moved to stand beside Arturia.

The spearman continues, "Before my spear, you may as well be completely naked."

I hear Schellick on comms, "Ooh there's a nice thought."

"You shut your mouth, Schellick." I respond.

Arturia replies, "Don't be so certain that you have the upper hand simply because you have a way to bypass my armor." She waves her hand and her armor disappears in specks of blue and gold light, leaving only her blue and white dress that she wears underneath. She assumes a stance with her sword behind her, ready to propel herself forward, "If I cannot defend against your attacks, I need only strike you down before you have a chance to attack me."

Mordred and the horseman seem content to sit back and watch this confrontation play out. The spearman says, "Hmm, you seem to have a knack for turning a disadvantage into an advantage. You possess such bold and graceful determination. I admire that." He starts to take steps backwards. Arturia takes a couple steps forward, then uses another mana burst to propel herself forward. The spearman smirks, and I just remembered that he has another spear that he discarded a while ago.

 _"Arturia, watch out for-"_

My warning comes too late, as Arturia gets close to the spearman he kicks up his other spear that he had almost buried under some rubble. She notices this but is unable to correct herself enough to avoid his attack. She twists in the air, and luckily isn't run through with his other spear, which is also unwrapped now and is a golden color. They slice each other at the same time, both of them cutting each other on the inner part of their left forearm. Arturia falls to the ground and the spearman drops his golden spear.

Arturia gets back up, blood pouring from her wrist. I can see that Lancer is bleeding just as bad.

 _"Damn, he cut a tendon. I can't move my thumb."_

The spearman looks at his arm, "You just can't let me win can you? Excellent. I respect your courage!"

 _"Why do you insist on paying these pointless compliments?"_ Lancer's Master speaks again, _"You should've finished her off, imbecile."_ A green light bathes Lancer's wound and it is healed.

"A thousand pardons, my Master." the spearman says.

While this is going on I focus once more on Arturia and cast a healing spell.

"Hey Schellick," I say, "tell this bitch to shut up and let our Servants do their thing, I kinda like these Lancers, they've got honor and morals."

"Roger that. Hey dickwad! Why don't you shut the fuck up and let our Servants have their moment! They won't be around forever!"

No response. _"Arturia, Mordred."_ I think.

 _"Yes, Master?"_ They say at the same time.

 _"I know how important chivalry is to you two. I've got all night, you do you boo boo."_

 _"Hehe, thanks Master."_ Mordred says.

 _"Thank you Master, could you please heal me again?"_ Arturia says.

What? _"I did."_

 _"It didn't work, I am still bleeding."_

 _"The fuck?"_ I once again cast the healing spell, _"How about now?"_

 _"Nothing, Master."_ "What did you do to me, Lancer?"

"Fortunately for me, my Gae Dearg convinced you that your armor was worthless. You cast it aside too hastily, for if you had kept it, it would have protected you from Gae Buidhe."

Arturia says, "I see, that spear inflicts cursed wounds that cannot be healed. I should have recognized you earlier… First among the Knights of Fianna, Diarmuid Ua Duibhne. Never did I expect the honor of facing such an opponent."

"That's the funny thing about the Holy Grail War…" Diarmuid says, "Really though, the pleasure is mine, as one who has transcended time and space to appear as a Servant, there is no mistaking that sword. Hahaha, I can hardly believe that I've landed a blow against the one who is rightfully known as the King of Knights. I guess I'm not to be underestimated… Well, now that we know each others-"

"WHAT?" Diarmuid gets interrupted by the voice of Arturia, but it didn't come from the Saber that's standing across from him, but rather the Lancer beside him.

Arturia looks at the horseman, "You would question my legitimacy as king?" She asks indignantly.

"Yes, I would question the legitimacy of an imposter!" the horseman says as they remove their helmet.

Everyone except for Diarmuid stops in shock. The horseman is Arturia. The face looks maybe a little more mature, and the voice maybe a little deeper, but that is definitely Arturia. I mutter "Ich sehe."

 _Servant Class: Lancer_

 _True Name: Arturia Pendragon_

 _A.K.A.: King of Knights, Lion King, Altria Pendragon_

 _Origin: History/ Legend of King Arthur_

 _Homeland/ Region: England, Britain, Camelot_

 _Alignment: Lawful Good_

 _Gender: Female_

 _Height and Weight: 171 cm (5' 7"); 57 kg (126 lbs)_

 _Strength: B Agility: A Luck: C Endurance: A Mana: A Noble Phantasm: A++_

 _Class Skills: Magic Resistance B; Riding A_

 _Personal Skills: Mana Burst A; Charisma B_

 _Noble Phantasms: Unknown_

"Halten. What the fuck? She's legit."

"Wait, boss, you're saying that she is 100% Arturia?" Schellick asks.

"Yeah, I have no idea how that works."

"I thought that spear looked familiar." Mordred growls with a whole lot of anger in her voice.

"How dare you call me the imposter!" my Arturia yells, "You of all people should know that I have the right to be king through this sword of promised victory!"

"And I wield the lance that shines to the end of the world! Would you like to dispute my right to rule?"

"How do you even exist, anyway? I am the one true King of Knights!"

"Bold words coming from a little girl, how do you know that I'm not the one true King of Knights?"

Mordred tries to speak up, "Father, I think that-"

"You stay out of this, Mordred!" Both Arturias turn to look and yell at her at the same time. Mordred immediately shuts up, too confused and taken aback to retort.

They both pause to think of further arguments, and while they do I tell my Arturia, _"Wait, I think I know what's going on, you're both Heroic Spirits, and your form is determined by the legends and stories that surround you, as well as your true form in real life. It's possible that she is simply an alternate version of you. Basically, she's the 'you' that people think of when they learn about your spear, rather than your sword."_

 _"That may be so, Master, but I will not stand to be insulted by her."_ "Right, since we cannot come to an agreement, we shall settle this with our weapons!" Arturia holds her sword in front of her. "With pleasure!" Says Arturia Lancer as she puts her helmet back on.

Before either of them can do anything, a whole shitton of lightning appears out of nowhere and a weird war cry can be heard from the sky.

"AAAAAHLULULULULULULULULUAAIIII!"

And then a fucking chariot drops in between my Servants and the Lancers. It's pulled by two bulls. Upon it stands a man who is probably the most intimidating looking person I've ever seen. He is at least seven feet tall and looks like he weighs 300 pounds of pure muscle. He has short red hair and a goatee with sideburns. He's dressed in what looks like ancient greek armor and a red cape, with leather vambraces. When he lands he spreads his arms out wide and shouts in a very booming, commanding voice, "Sheathe your swords! You are in the presence of royalty!" His tone is not angry or forceful, but rather jubilant and excited. "I am Iskandar, King of Conquerors. Brought forth to fight in this Holy Grail War as Rider!"

Beside him is a very, very, very scrawny college age young man, wearing a green school uniform, with shoulder length black hair. He looks absolutely terrified but he's trying his best not to have a panic attack.

He grabs onto Rider's cape and says, "What are you thinking, you moron?" in a very whiny voice. Rider flicks him on the head and he falls to the floor. From somewhere behind Iskandar, or maybe from inside his cape, I don't know, a woman emerges. She's fairly skinny and a little scrawny herself, she doesn't look too much taller than Arturia or Mordred, and her chest also looks even flatter than either of them… Why do I always think about stuff like that? Anyways, she has a lance in her hand and a sword belted to her waist. She wears a black leather suit and has on a white cape of her own. Her suit ends in a short skirt, and she has on white and red plate faulds, pauldrons, and vambraces with gauntlets. She has black thigh high stockings on and white riding boots that go up to her calves. The most striking thing about her appearance is her hair. It's about shoulder length with a couple black bows in it on the sides, except for the back which is braided and goes all the way down her back, the braid tied off with another bow.

And it's pink.

She looks at Iskandar and says, "Ooh, ooh we're doing introductions now? Okay!" She turns to the Lancers, "Hi hi, Lancers!" And then to my Servants, "Hi hi, Sabers! I am Astolfo! One of the twelve paladins of Charlemagne! I have also been summoned as a Rider! Nice to meet you all!" Her voice is extremely feminine, it has a weird effect of making me smile when I hear it. She accents her words with a lot of movement, giving exaggerated waves and bows and trying to look at everyone at once while she speaks.

Iskandar continues once Astolfo is done, "Of course, we are your enemy in the Holy Grail War. But first, I would ask of you… Would you consider…" He raises his arms once again in a victory pose, "surrendering yourselves and acquiescing the Grail to me!? Do, so, and I shall welcome you as allies! Follow me, and you shall know the thrills of world domination!"


	7. Chapter 7

No one says anything for a minute, finally Mordred says, "You've gotta be shitting me."

Iskandar looks at her, "Oh?" Diarmuid speaks up as well, "I'm afraid I must decline, I entered this war and swore fealty to my Master who summoned me, and you are not he, Rider!"

Lancer Arturia adds in, "You interrupted our duel with Saber to spout that gibberish? Pah!"

My Arturia says, "To a knight, that is a grave insult, and you will pay dearly for that, Rider."

Iskandar seems largely uninterested in the other Servants' protests, "I can make it worth your while, we could plunder this-"

"Enough!" both of the Lancers and my Servants say at the same time.

"Moreover," my Arturia continues after a second, "I am a monarch as well, the King of Britain. No matter who you are, how exalted you may be or claim to be, I shall never lower myself to becoming another's subject!"

"King of Britain, you say? Incredible! To think that the King of Knights was a little girl!"

Even though I'm a little over fifty feet away, I can easily see both Arturia and Mordred tense up and start shaking a little in rage. "Would you care to taste this little girl's steel, King of Conquerors?" Arturia threatens, readying her sword.

Iskandar sighs, "It appears negotiations have broken down. Damn, what a shame."

The kid, who must be Riders' Master, wails in anguish and starts pounding weakly on Iskandar. He starts to speak but is interrupted by Lancer's Master. " _I see. It was you, of all people. I wondered who could possibly have been stupid or crazy enough to steal my summoning relic. But never did I expect you to have the guts to enter the Holy Grail War yourself. Waver Velvet."_ The kid starts shaking in fear, still clinging on to Iskandar's cape. " _But this is quite convenient. It's the perfect chance to impart a very special lesson unto you. You will learn what it means for two mages to fight to the death. You will be thoroughly familiar with all the fear and pain that it entails. You should feel honored."_ Rider's Master collapses onto the floor of the chariot, it looks like he's having some kind of panic attack.

Iskandar places a hand on the boy's shoulders and pats him on the back gently, and Astolfo has her hands on her hips, looking around defiantly for the source of her Master's fear. Iskandar calls out, "You there, mage! It sounds as though you were intended to be my Master instead of this boy! Let me say, the mere idea makes me ill! Only the man with the courage to stand beside me on the battlefield is fit to be my Master! A coward, too afraid to show his face, is not fit for the role!"

I mutter, "Schellick, call this dude a pussy."

"Yeah! What he said, pussy boy!"

Iskandar laughs heartily as I say "Hell yeah."

" _Hahahaha, hell yeah, Master!"_ I hear Mordred say in my head.

To be fair, I'm kinda doing the same thing he is, maybe worse since I'm using Schellick as a body double, but I am in a position where I could be seen if the Servants looked up at the right angle, my goal isn't to be completely hidden, it's just to make it seem like I'm not the Master. And I am willing to go down there and throw hands with these Servants if I have to, and something tells me this guy won't. "Oh hey, by the way, 8 and 9, I think I know who Lancer's Master is, I'll look into it after this battle."

"Roger." Schellick and Minaki say.

Iskandar turns and says "And the rest of you! I know you are hiding in the darkness, spying on us." Maybe it's me being paranoid but I swear he looks right at me for about half a second.

"What do you mean, Rider?" My Arturia asks.

Iskandar holds up a thumb to her, "Saber and Lancer, your battle was fought fairly and with honor. It was splendid!"

"That part where you got rid of your armor was very cool, Saber!" Astolfo adds.

"I cannot imagine myself being the only Heroic Spirit drawn by the ringing of your clashing weapons. Heroes summoned by the Grail, let us gather! And to those too paralyzed by fear to show your faces, know that Iskandar, King of Conquerors, holds you in utter contempt!" Iskandar finishes.

I take a second to look around, all this talk of others watching from the shadows has made me wary. I hear Minaki's voice in my head, "Hey 6, this is 9, I think I see another Assassin, on top of another crane at your nine, watching this whole thing. Want me to try and take him out?"

I look, sure enough there's a person perched on a crane that overlooks the area that the Servants are in, they're garbed in some black tattered cloak and are wearing a porcelain mask that looks like a skull. "Nah, we don't know what he's capable of, let's wait for now." Interesting, so Assassin is still in play, whoever his Master is, they're playing a very sneaky game. I sling my M4 on the magnetic holster on the back of my exo suit, and watch, crouched down, as the rest of this situation plays out.

After a few moments, specks of golden dust materialize over a lamp post a few feet away from all the Servants, and they converge to form a person. It's a man, clad in some ornate golden armor, he's blonde, and he holds himself with an obvious air of elegance, standing upright on the lamp post and crossing his arms over his chest. He speaks, with a ridiculous amount of indignation and self-righteousness in his voice, "Not one, but two insolent dogs disregard my majesty, to purport themselves as kings?"

All of the Servants look at him, Iskandar says, "That's an odd thing to quibble about. I am Iskandar, known throughout the world as King of Conquerors."

"Foolishness, I am the only true king to stride this earth. All others are but mongrels and peasants before me."

"Oh man I hate this guy already." I mutter.

"Hooah." I hear Schellick say.

"If you make such claims, then state your name!" Iskandar gestures to this new Servant, "Surely a fellow king would not hesitate to name himself to his enemies."

"You dare issue demands to me, cur?" The light beneath the Servant starts flickering, and he taps his foot against the post, and it shatters, "To your king? Blessed to personally bask in my glory, you still cannot even recognize me. You are uncivilized animals, unworthy of your lives!" A series of golden circles appear behind this new Servant, from within each one appears a weapon, mainly swords, tips pointed outwards. This must be the guy who killed Assassin. Arturia and Mordred move to provide cover for Schellick should this guy decide to skewer him with his weapons. Iskandar appears to be observing this Noble Phantasm, while Astolfo moves to step over her Master's crouched figure and help shield him from attack. The Lancers turn to face this new threat, most likely Archer, and assume defensive stances. I have my left hand on my hip where my G17 is holstered, my M9 is on my other hip, my Grizzly just below that on my leg, and my 500 on a concealed holster on my back just above my tailbone.

As I watch this confrontation play out I hear a ping and see the little proximity warning symbol pop up again, and since I haven't been hit by some projectile that means that there's someone behind me. I pull my Glock and bring my left arm around my body, my weapon now pointing behind me on my right side, and I turn my head to the right to see what's behind me. I see a man, he has white hair and amber eyes, standing about five feet away from me, he's holding a simple black bow with a single red arrow drawn and pointed at my face. He has on a red coat over a black skin tight suit, with steel plates on his feet making boots that almost look like sneakers. He has a very serious, almost angry look on his face.

I sigh as I put my Glock away, "Well shit." I mumble. A small, sly grin crosses this new Archer's face for a moment. I think for a second, wondering how I'm gonna get out of this. This guy is obviously in the Archer class so his reflexes are probably ridiculously high. If I move at all he'll just release his arrow and I doubt I'd be able to dodge it from this close. I'd have to move extremely fast to… Wait… Yes, that's it, I know what I'll do. It should work.

Without taking my eyes off this guy, I mumble as quietly as I can, my face still concealed from my bandana, "Time Alter: Double Accel." It's an alteration spell, it creates a reality-altering field inside my body, letting me manipulate time into accelerating for myself, and so I move twice as fast as I normally do, which is amplified due to my exo suit, so I can move faster than most people would be able to perceive. I lunge forward and to the side, because as I expected, even though I'm about five times faster than most humans, I'm just as fast as this guy, and he releases his arrow which flies almost in slow motion past my head, and I grab him under his arm and pivot to hurl him off of the connex, but he grabs my arm and takes me with him.

We fall off the stacked connexes and hit the ground, both of us rolling and separating. We get to our feet and square up to each other about ten feet apart. We've both assumed a fighting stance, neither of us have a weapon in our hands. The archer opens his hands and in a flash of yellow light, like some kind of pseudo-lightning, similar to the way Mordred's armor and weapon materialize, he suddenly has two scimitars in his hands. One is black with red lines tracing through it in some kind of volcanic rock pattern, and the other is white, both of them having a yin-yang symbol set in the middle of the blade close to the handle.

"Ooh, fancy." I say, and then I extend my combat blades, "I can do that too." I smirk, realizing that my bandana has fallen down. My combat knives that are inserted into the wrists of my exo suit aren't exactly designed for swordfighting like this, but they're sturdy enough and are long enough to work against a guy wielding some short swords, the length of my blades is about 12 inches. My only concern is that this Archer is gonna be too fast for me, my time acceleration spell only lasts for a couple real-world seconds, and drains a decent amount of my mana, so I can't use it too much.

" _Master, are you alright?"_ Mordred asks, " _D'ya need me to come over there and kick that guy's ass for ya?"_

" _I think I got him for a few minutes, I'll let you know."_ The other Servants watch as Archer lunges at me, I block and counterattack, he blocks and attacks, I parry, he dodges, he slashes and I dodge, this continues for a couple moments. I notice that even though I'm comparatively weak to this guy, and I'm using standard blades and not some special Noble Phantasm, I break this guy's swords about five or six times, and each time he just summons up another one, like he has an unlimited amount of blades. We separate for a few seconds, and I hear Minaki say, "6, watch out!" During our fight we've moved over closer to the group of Servants, and I look around, then up, and see one of the connexes in the air as if it was thrown from across the shipping yard heading straight towards us. Myself, Schellick, and all the Servants dodge out of the way, I've put my blades away, and we all stand back up, I'm next to Schellick who is behind my Servants. The connex gives off a deafening clanging sound as it crashes to the ground and rolls into a stack on one side of the aisle.

From the same direction as the connex comes two more Servants, they land several feet away from everyone and stand there for a second. We all look at them. One appears to be another knight, he has on a full suit of black armor, a long black decorative tail trailing from his helmet, a menacing red light emanating from his visor, and he is surrounded by some kind of black mist. The other is some gargantuan motherfucker, like this dude has to be at least ten feet tall, he's got dark skin with tattoos all over, and he's wearing purple fabric around his waist adorned with a ridiculous amount of gold, and he also has on a lot of golden jewelry like bracelets, rings, necklaces, ear and nose piercings, and more. When they stand after their impact which shattered the ground around them, the knight gives off a slightly muted cry of pure rage and begins shaking and twitching, as if his primal desire to tear apart everything in arms reach is just barely being suppressed. I remember reading that all Heroic Spirits summoned as Berserker class have this thing called Madness Enhancement placed on them, it increases all their attributes, especially strength, but damages their mental capabilities so that they're either insane or nearly brain dead, making most of them act like barely tamed animals, extremely difficult to control.

"Berserker?" Arturia asks incredulously.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's them, since they just threw a 5,000 pound container at us like it was a football." I joke.

"Well, King of Conquerors, why not try recruiting them?" Diarmuid says.

"I would try, but they don't seem the type to sit down and negotiate." Iskandar replies. "Okay, boy. How do they measure up as Servants?" He asks his Master.

The boy looks around Astolfo for a second, then says, "I don't know. I can't tell at all." He looks petrified.

"What? What kind of excuse for a Master are you?" Iskandar retorts.

Astolfo turns to scold him, "Hey, hey, hey, don't be so hard on him, Iskandar, he's doing his best!"

"I understand that, but can't he see weaknesses, strengths, stats, basic things like that?"

"...No, I can't. I can see some stuff for the big one, but for the other one, I can't read any of it's stats!"

What? Maybe it has something similar to Mordred's Secret of Pedigree ability. I mutter "Ich Sehe" and look at the big guy.

 _Servant Class: Berserker_

 _True Name: Unknown_

 _A.K.A.: N/A_

 _Origin: Unknown_

 _Homeland/ Region: Unknown_

 _Alignment: Lawful Neutral_

 _Gender: Male_

 _Height and Weight: 345 cm (11' 4"); 280 kg (617 lbs)_

 _Strength: A Agility: B Luck: D Endurance: A+ Mana: E Noble Phantasm: A_

 _Class Skills: Madness Enhancement B_

 _Personal Skills: Unknown_

 _Noble Phantasms: Unknown_

Holy mother of God. This beast is almost twice as tall as I am and weighs more than all the rest of these Servants except maybe Iskandar combined. I then look at the knight.

 _Servant Class: Berserker_

 _True Name: Unknown_

 _A.K.A.: N/A_

 _Origin: Unknown_

 _Homeland/ Region: Unknown_

 _Alignment: Unknown_

 _Gender: Male_

 _Height and Weight: 191 cm (6' 3"); 81 kg (179 lbs)_

 _Strength: Unk. Agility: Unk. Luck: Unk. Endurance: Unk. Mana: Unk. Noble Phantasm: Unk._

 _Class Skills: Madness Enhancement Unk._

 _Personal Skills: Unknown_

 _Noble Phantasms: Unknown_

The kid was right, I can't see any info on the knight other than his physical appearance, which is very dangerous since I can't compare his stats or abilities to the other Servants, especially my own. There's a lull in activity so I take a second to sweep my gaze over the other Servants to see their stats. I look at the Riders.

 _Servant Class: Rider_

 _True Name: Iskandar_

 _A.K.A.: Alexander the Great, King of Conquerors_

 _Origin: History_

 _Homeland/ Region: Macedonia, Greece_

 _Alignment: Neutral Good_

 _Gender: Male_

 _Height and Weight: 212 cm (6' 11"); 130 kg (286 lbs)_

 _Strength: B Agility: D Luck: A+ Endurance: A Mana: C Noble Phantasm: A++_

 _Class Skills: Riding A+; Magic Resistance D_

 _Personal Skills: Charisma A; Military Tactics B_

 _Noble Phantasms: Unknown_

Ok, so Iskandar isn't seven feet tall and 300 pounds but he's pretty close. I look at Astolfo.

 _Servant Class: Rider_

 _True Name: Astolfo_

 _A.K.A.: N/A_

 _Origin: Legend of Charlemagne_

 _Homeland/ Region: France_

 _Alignment: Chaotic Good_

 _Gender: ?_

 _Height and Weight: 164 cm (5' 4"); 56 kg (123 lbs)_

 _Strength: D Agility: B Luck: A+ Endurance: D Mana: C Noble Phantasm: C_

 _Class Skills: Magic Resistance A; Riding A+; Independant Action B_

 _Personal Skills: Unknown_

 _Noble Phantasms: Unknown_

Alright, her stats seem fairly standard for someone like- wait… What the fuck does "?" mean for gender? She's obviously a woman, she looks like a woman, she talks like a woman, she acts like a woman, so why doesn't it just say female? Maybe it's a similar case to Arturia where the stories about her said she was male when she was actually female, and Arturia and Mordred were real people so they are definitely female, but Astolfo is a completely fictional character, given form by the Grail from the legends surrounding her, so I guess it's possible for her to either be male or female, and maybe something just got screwed up in transferring her spirit origin from male to female. Next I look at Diarmuid, I haven't had a chance to yet.

 _Servant Class: Lancer_

 _True Name: Diarmuid Ua Duibhne_

 _A.K.A.: Diarmuid of the Lovespot_

 _Origin: Irish Mythology_

 _Homeland/ Region: Ireland_

 _Alignment: Lawful Neutral_

 _Gender: Male_

 _Height and Weight: 184 cm (6' 0"); 85 kg (187 lbs)_

 _Strength: B Agility: A+ Luck: E Endurance: C Mana: D Noble Phantasm: B_

 _Class Skills: Magic Resistance B_

 _Personal Skills: Love Spot C_

 _Noble Phantasms: Gae Buidhe- Anti-Unit B; Gae Dearg- Anti-Unit B_

Then I look at the Golden Archer, still standing on the lamp post, he's now looking at the Berserkers with the utmost disdain on his face.

 _Servant Class: Archer_

 _True Name: Unknown_

 _A.K.A.: N/A_

 _Origin: Unknown_

 _Homeland/ Region: Unknown_

 _Alignment: Chaotic Good_

 _Gender: Male_

 _Height and Weight: 182 cm (5' 11"); 68 kg (150 lbs)_

 _Strength: B Agility: B Luck: A Endurance: B Mana: A Noble Phantasm: EX_

 _Class Skills: Independant Action A; Magic Resistance C_

 _Personal Skills: Unknown_

 _Noble Phantasms: Unknown_

Oh shit, an EX rank Noble Phantasm? That is not good at all. The ratings on Servant skills and abilities go from E to A++, but there's one more rank past A++, and that's EX, which basically means that it's so powerful that there's no real way to compare it to anything else, or it's so unique that there's no other ability or Noble Phantasm like it, and thus it's automatically the most powerful ability in its class. I'll have to keep a close eye on him. Finally I look at the red Archer.

 _Servant Class: Archer_

 _True Name: Unknown_

 _A.K.A.: N/A_

 _Origin: Unknown_

 _Homeland/ Region: Unknown_

 _Alignment: Neutral_

 _Gender: Male_

 _Height and Weight: 187 cm (6' 2"); 78 kg (172 lbs)_

 _Strength: D Agility: C Luck: E Endurance: C Mana: B Noble Phantasm: ?_

 _Class Skills: Independant Action B; Magic Resistance D_

 _Personal Skills: Unknown_

 _Noble Phantasms: Unknown_

What in the actual fuck is going on with the Archers? This guy's stats are pretty sub-par, which explains how I was able to go toe-to-toe with him so well, but his Noble Phantasm has a fucking question mark on it? What in the sam hell does that mean? That's even scarier than an EX Noble Phantasm. I've decided that we're gonna avoid combat with the Archers at all costs until we get a sense of how powerful they actually are, I simply don't know enough about them to formulate a good plan of attack, especially not now. I mutter "Halten."

Once my vision returns to normal I look around, all the Servants near me are looking at the Berserkers, and the knight Berserker is looking at the golden Archer on the lamp post. "Who gave you permission to look at me, you rabid dog?" the Archer says. I just noticed that he has red eyes, that's pretty cool. The two yellow circles behind him move so that they're facing the Berserker, the circles are two dimensional, they must be portals of some kind. "See to it that your death amuses me, mongrel." The sword and spear sticking out of the circles glow with a golden light and shoot towards the knight, almost as fast as a bullet. The weapons have so much force and energy behind them that when they reach the knight they explode on impact.

After a moment the smoke clears and the knight is standing confidently, unharmed, facing the Archer. "That's quite a technique for one who is beyond rational thought." Iskandar muses.

"What do you mean?" Astolfo questions him. The nearby Servants turn to look at them.

"Oh, couldn't you tell? That black thing snatched the sword out of the air, then used it to knock aside the spear."

That's… Well… Extremely impressive, because if that's true, then the knight did that in less than a quarter of a second, much faster than the human eye could detect. "Father, this Berserker… He seems… Familiar…" Mordred says to Arturia in front of me.

"I agree… But for some reason, I cannot place where I have seen him… Perhaps he was a prospective for my Round Table at one point, I know I turned away many knights."

The knight looks directly at the golden Archer, almost like he's challenging him. The knight says nothing. "You presume to soil my treasures with your filthy hands?" the golden Archer says, turning to face the knight directly now. "Do you desire death that badly, dog!?" the Archer has a look of annoyed anger on his face, and now around two dozen circles appear, each with its own ornate, deadly weapon. "How long can your petty thievery sustain your life? Show me!"

The Archer launches all of his weapons in quick succession at the Berserkers, the knight catches the first two and starts using them to block and deflect the others. The large Berserker uses the bracelets and golden jewelry on his arms as armor and begins to block the weapons being launched at him. The knight throws one of the weapons in his hand at an incoming projectile, and it boomerangs back to him, I notice that it has the same black mist around it as is around him. Both Berserkers block and parry the attacks, the impacts of the weapons on the ground creating small craters and a large dust cloud that obscures them for a moment. From inside the dust cloud, two weapons come spinning out at the Archer. He jumps from the lamp post as the two weapons hit it, slicing it into three pieces.

The golden Archer lands on his feet on the ground, facing away from the rest of the Servants, the red Archer moves to stand near him, his bow re-materialized and a long dart-looking arrow nocked and drawn, pointed at the large Berserker. "Ignorant fools…" the gold Archer says, "You should think of me as a god. I shall not permit you to exist upon the same world I inhabit!" He turns to face the Berserkers, and now there are even more circles of light behind him, at least fifty, probably twice that. "Your impudence has earned you death! You mongrels, I shall destroy every last bit of your corpses!" He prepares to unleash all of his weapons upon the Berserkers, but then he stops. He tenses up, and looks up and to the side. "You would have the gall to order a king's retreat? A bold move, Tokiomi." He waves his hand and all of the circles of light disappear, as well as any weapons still on the ground and not destroyed. "You've been spared this time, mad dogs… As for the rest of you mutts, by our next encounter, I expect you rabble to have thinned your herd. Only true heroes are worthy of gazing upon me." He walks away and both the Archers dissipate into specks of golden light.

"Looks like Archer's Master doesn't have that one's fortitude." Iskandar says, looking at the spot they disappeared at.

Arturia and Mordred shift their focus from the Riders to the Berserkers. The knight stares at Arturia for several seconds, then starts shaking uncontrollably and with another cry of pure unbridled rage, several long strands of fabric similar to the one on his helmet burst out of his back, his armor starting to glow a slight red like his visor. "Master, get back!" both Arturia and Mordred shout as they start to move towards the Berserkers. The large Berserker materializes two deadly and ornate looking axes in his hands, and the knight rushes to the side and picks up a section of the lamp post that he cut down, and jumps into the air, his fellow Berserker running forward.

The knight almost lands on top of Arturia, bringing the pole in his hands down, Arturia stopping it with her sword. The pole in his hands now has red lines around it, and it's holding up against Arturia's sword very well, and this fact surprises Arturia slightly. The large Berserker slashes sideways at Mordred as she moves to intercept him, and she ducks under his strike and gives him a slash of her own, but it's parried by his other axe. Arturia disengages from the knight and strikes at him, and he blocks it with his pole. Mordred takes a step back away from the large Berserker and prepares to go back in for another strike.

"So that's it…" Iskandar starts, watching the confrontation between my Servants and the Berserkers intently.

"Oh! Oh I get it! Whatever that black knight holds becomes his Noble Phantasm! That's so cool, why can't I do that?" Astolfo finishes.

The black knight begins a brutal assault on Arturia, striking her with so much force that even though she can block his attacks easily, she gets thrown slightly off balance and can't easily counterattack. The same is happening with Mordred, the large Berserker has a bit of reach and the benefit of two weapons on her, similar to Arturia's battle with Diarmuid earlier, so Mordred has to stay on the defensive and desperately hope that she'll find a chance to attack. I can hear Mordred cursing as she fights, "Dammit. Dammit! Damn you!" and Arturia grunting and panting slightly from the exertion of fighting such a fierce opponent, and at some point she says, "What are you?" My Servants look like they're actually having a tough time with these two, and the Rider and Lancer Servants seem content to just watch this one play out for now, so I decide that I should do something. "8, help Arturia with that knight, I'll see what I can do with the big one. 9, be ready to take shots at the Servants if I say so."

My teammates acknowledge my orders as I stride forward, starting to run to pick up speed, Schellick beside me loading up some of his AP shells. He starts firing at the knight Berserker, and while the slugs don't actually seem to hurt him or damage his armor like Schellick was hoping, they do stagger him a good amount just from the stopping power of the slugs, allowing Arturia to make some advances, and now the knight has to worry about both attacking and defending against Arturia, as well as dodging Schellick's blasts. During this confrontation the knight lets out a long, guttural, high pitched, slightly muted cry that sounds a little like "Aarrthurrrrr!" Meanwhile I pull out my Grizzly, and shoot out my grapnel at the large Berserker while he fights with Mordred, catching him on the hand with it. He stops for a second and looks at me, but has to return his attention to Mordred as she takes a couple swings and jabs at him. I begin circling him and shooting at him with my Grizzly, but sadly my bullets don't seem to do much as he's able to block them with either his weapon or his jewelry that he has on. I curse under my breath, annoyed at my weapon's uselessness against such a monster as I re-holster it. I leave my grapnel on him as I circle him, running sideways and jumping over Mordred as I pass her, trying to tie him up in my cord. After a couple revolutions my cord has run out and he only has one hand free, and his legs are bound, I'm holding him in place and have about twenty feet of cord separating us, he lets out a long, extremeley loud, echoing war cry, "AAAAOOOOOOOOHHHHHH!"

Mordred slashes at him but he bats it down with his free hand, hitting so hard that her sword flies out of her hand and embeds itself into the ground at her feet, and his axe head shatters, turning into a crude mace. He then uses said new mace to swing up at Mordred, catching her in the chest and sending her flying backward into a connex. She blows through the door and impacts unseen into the other side, causing the whole container to shift back a couple feet. The Berserker then grabs my grapnel cord, and starts dragging it back around and spinning. I say "Ah shit." as I realize what's about to happen. I get whipped to the side as he pulls me and starts spinning with me still attached to him through the cord. He starts spinning faster and faster, dragging me along as if he's doing the hammer throw at an olympic game. My world becomes a helpless blur of pain as I collide with the ground, other lamp posts, Schellick, and the walls of containers at speeds probably in excess of 50 mph, I cry out in pain multiple times as I strike something and roll and ragdoll all over the place, I hear Arturia shout "Master!" Eventually I'm able to get out, "Fuck! Gaah! Minak- kuh, Minaki! Kaah, dammit, shoot him! Grrah! Shoot him God dammit!"

I hear the crack of a rifle, and the large Berserker lets out another impossibly loud war cry. Another shot. "Boss, I hit him twice but it's not doing much!" God dammit, I fumble with my harness and after banging against another few things I finally disengage my rope from my harness, and I fly into a container, denting it slightly from the impact of my body. I lay with my back against it, slumped over. I can feel Avalon slowly healing the major damage, but it'll probably take a few seconds due to the sheer amount of injuries I have. I can feel blood coming out of my ears, nose, mouth (I think I'm missing a couple teeth now), and probably my eyes. I have at least seven broken ribs and my right shoulder is out of place, luckily my exo suit is still intact and it kept my limbs from breaking, and miraculously my helmet is still on, the visor is cracked, but it kept my head from taking a serious beating. I look up, my left eye starting to swell shut, breathing ragged and painful, and I see the knight Berserker, he's broken away from Arturia and Schellick and is now in the air flying towards me, his pole over his head ready to bring it down on me.

There's nothing I can do to stop him in this situation, I'm going to die, he's gonna bring that pole down and completely pulverize my head with it. Avalon can heal lots of wounds, even fatal ones, but it can't regenerate lost limbs and it definitely can't heal decapitations or similar wounds. This unnamed knight is going to be the reason that my daughter becomes an orphan. Someone's going to have to knock on my parent's door and tell them that I've died and they'll have to lie about how. I watch in slow motion as the Berserker's pole comes down and…

And Mordred appears in front of me and blocks the blow, catching the pole with her sword. She's standing over me, parts of her armor are gone from the other Berserker's attack, most of her right arm armor is gone, her chestplate is dented in and half of her helmet is gone, revealing a single emerald colored eye that shows an intense fiery anger. She's bleeding from her head and several other places, I see drops of blood pouring down her armor onto the concrete in front of me. She pushes the Berserker off of her, yelling, "Get off my Master, you Bastard!" The large Berserker finally frees himself from my cord, and rushes forward, Arturia running to try and intercept him from the other side of the aisle, and the knight Berserker swings his pole at Mordred. Suddenly a flash of red cuts across the pole and about a foot of it is severed.

Beside Mordred, Diarmuid stands from the position he had to be in to slash at the pole, and meanwhile the large Berserker hurls his axe at Arturia, but it's batted out of the air by the lance of the other Arturia, who gets between my Arturia and the Berserker. "Berserker, we have already claimed this duel with Saber." Diarmuid says.

"Attack them further, and you will contend with us as well." Lancer Arturia adds.

"Lancer…" My Arturia starts, looking at both of the Lancers.

" _What are you doing, Lancer? This is the perfect opportunity to eliminate Saber."_ Lancer's Master calls out from wherever he's at.

"Saber will fall by my spear, upon my honor as Diarmuid Ua Duibhne!" Diarmuid calls to his Master. "Allow me to slay this rabid dog first!" He points his spear at the knight Berserker. "What say you, my Master?"

" _... I command you, by this Command Spell…"_ Oh shit, this ain't gonna be good.

"Master!" Both the Lancers call out pleadingly, silently begging him to stop.

" _You will help Berserker, and kill Saber."_

Nothing happens for a moment, then out of nowhere, both Lancers turn and start attacking my Servants. I can't see what Lancer Arturia's expression is right now, but I'm sure it's similar to Diarmuid's. He looks angry, he has no way to resist the command spell, his body is acting on it's own, and as he squares up to Mordred alongside the knight Berserker, he says quietly, "Saber, I'm sorry." This is a bad situation, there's no way my Servants will be able to take on both Lancer and Berserker at the same time.

I see Schellick getting up slowly and painfully from when I hit him earlier while I was being tossed around. Mordred looks at me, her and Arturia readying their swords, "Master, can you walk?" Mordred asks.

"Yeah, I think so," I say, "Schellick?"

"Ah, yep, I think I'll be good."

"We shall hold them off, Master, while we do, get yourselves to safety." Arturia says.

I'm healed enough to stand up, and as I do I chuckle, spitting out a little blood. "Like hell I am."

"Master, go!" Arturia implores me.

"No, Saber, I'm staying. I'm with you to the end." I reset my shoulder, crying out in pain, and as it fully heals I pull my M9 out and point it at Diarmuid. "I may not be able to do much against a Servant, but it looks like you need all the help you can get." After a second, I look around, "9, you still got visual on the Master?" I mumble.

"Roger, I don't have a clear shot, but if I needed to I could probably hit him."

"Alright, on my mark."

Diarmuid and the knight Berserker take a step towards Mordred, "Ready…" I see them tense up and prepare to lunge, and I'm about to say mark, but then Rider's chariot comes in and bowls over the Berserkers, the Lancers seeing this attack coming just in time to dodge out of the way. The Berserkers are carried about twenty feet and the chariot keeps rolling along, turning to be ready for another attack. Both Berserkers get up to their hands and knees and struggle to get up, the knight disappears in a cloud of black smoke, and the large one looks at the Riders, and says, "Is...kan...dar…" before he too disappears.

"Well, it appears that our Berserker friends have decided to withdraw for the night. Master of Lancer, I know not where you hide, but cease your pathetic meddling in the affairs of true knights! Call off Lancer. Should you insist on further sullying their names, I shall side with Saber." Iskandar says.

"Me too, and together, we'll massacre your Servants! What do you say to that?" Astolfo pipes up.

" _... Fall back, Lancer. Tonight's battle is over."_ Lancer's Master calls out.

"You have my gratitude, King of Conquerors." Diarmuid says.

"Don't mention it, I simply enjoy seeing the flowers of war in bloom." Iskandar smiles.

Diarmuid looks from Mordred to Arturia, Arturia nods to him, and he nods back as he disappears. Lancer Arturia looks at my Arturia, "You got lucky with your Master, I hate mine." She says quietly with a chuckle as she too disappears along with her horse.

After a few moments of silence, Arturia asks Iskandar, "What was your purpose in coming here, King of Conquerors?"

"I cannot say I planned it out thoroughly, to be honest… Saber, before you do anything else, settle your score with Lancer. I shall await the victor, be it you or Lancer. Goodbye for now, King of Knights! I hope our next meeting will prove even more exciting than our first!"

"You guys are really good fighters! I can't wait to see what your Noble Phantasm does!" Astolfo chimes in from behind Iskandar. By now my Servants have moved closer together and are standing by the chariot, and I am a couple feet behind them.

"Hey, boy, any grand declarations for our foes? Hmm?" Iskandar bends down and picks up his Master, who has passed out from shock or something, by the scruff of his collar. "Haah, he really needs to get himself together." He gives an approving nod to my Servants and me, and he turns and cracks a whip to get his beasts going, "Farewell!"

As the chariot lurches forward Astolfo leans forward, waving her lance, "Bye bye, Sabers- Aaah!" The sudden movement of the chariot causes her to lose her balance and in her effort to steady herself she throws down her lance, and it impales Mordred in her right leg.

Mordred's lower leg and foot disappear in a bunch of golden flakes and she falls to the ground, "Gyaaah! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO ME!?" She screams in rage.

"Oh no! Oh no, oh no I'm so sorry, sorry! Sorry!" Astolfo jumps down as the chariot pulls away, leaving her behind, and picks up her lance, but then has to use it to block Mordred's vicious attacks.

"You bastard! Come here you wretch, I'll kill you! Damn you, damn you!" Mordred crawls awkwardly on one hand and leg, swinging her sword, chasing Astolfo as she hastily backs away.

"Sorry, sorry! This is the Trap of Argalia, it turns whatever it strikes back into spirit form, but don't worry, it'll come back in a couple of hours! Sorry again, gotta go, bye!" She turns and starts running in the direction that the chariot went, "Hey, wait for me!" She disappears in the same golden light that the rest of the Servants did.

Mordred cries out in rage, it's actually scarier than the Berserkers. "I'll kill her! I'm gonna find her and kill her! Heal me, Master! I'm gonna go after her and-"

"Mordred, calm down, you'll be ok, it was an accident." I say as I crouch down next to her. She's got golden light emanating from where she got amputated, but there's no bleeding or anything like that. "9, meet us at the car."

I hear Minaki's acknowledgement as I pull Mordred onto my shoulders. "You're gonna be ok, Mordred." I say gently, my compassionate side coming out. "I'll patch you two up once we get to the car, let's go." We jog to the car, me carrying Mordred on my shoulders, Arturia on one side and Schellick on the other. We get to the car, Minaki waiting leaning against the driver's door, her weapons already stowed in the back. She looks up at us as we approach, we must look horrible, all of us have a couple wounds on our faces and heads that cause a trickle of blood to come down our faces, as well as other scratches and bruises on other parts of our bodies. "Schellick, drive. Minaki, shotgun. I'll get in back, Arturia, go to the passenger side." Minaki opens the back driver's side door then goes around to the passenger seat, and I place Mordred in the seat while Schellick opens the back and stows his weapons. Arturia goes around to her seat and after I stow my M4 I jump in from Mordred's door and close the door behind me, and we take off back home.

…

During the drive back to the house, we're driving down a back road in a forest near our suburb, I'm standing hunched over between Arturia and Mordred in the backseat, I pull out a first aid kit from under the seat and start treating their wounds. "Alright, both of you, get your shit off."

"Huh?" Mordred asks.

"Your armor, get rid of it."

"Oh, roger Master." They both de-materialize their armor, and they're left wearing their regular clothes. I look first at Mordred's leg, there's still no blood but I don't know when her foot will come back so just in case I put a tourniquet on her leg just above the amputation. I don't tighten it too much, just enough to keep it on, if she starts bleeding then I'll tighten it and use magic to heal her. I then turn to Arturia and roll up her sleeve to look at her injured arm, it's still bleeding, albeit slowly, it's started to clot but not fully enough for a wound of that size. I decide that since magic can't heal it, then I'll just pack it. I get some gauze out and pack the wound, then use a bandage to hold it in place, that should at least stop the bleeding.

"Arturia, can you move your hand? You mentioned that Lancer cut a tendon and from that point on you weren't fighting quite as well."

"I can't move my thumb, Master, and that is true, I have lost the full use of this hand, which is my dominant hand in sword fighting, and so I have to adjust to using my non-dominant hand."

"Hmm… Ok, we're gonna prioritize going after Lancer, so that we get rid of this curse and you're back up to full strength. I'll take out the Master if I get a chance, to speed up the process."

"Understood, Master."

I then start using magic to heal their minor wounds and wiping blood off them with a rag. While I do this, Arturia says, "Master… I… Would like to apologize."

"For what?"

"We faced almost all of our enemies tonight and yet we were unable to eliminate a single one. I should have tried harder, or been more cautious during my fight with Lancer, and perhaps we would not be in this situation."

I chuckle, "Are you serious? The way I look at it, since you were faced with so many enemies and got hit so hard, and you're still standing and largely unharmed, I think that's pretty impressive."

"How do you think we did, Master?" Mordred asks.

"Well I'm not well versed in medieval combat but I think you two were awesome, you at least showed that you're pretty tough and won't go down without a fight."

"True, thanks Master… Heh, we probably could've kicked Rider's ass if they wanted a fight. Did you see the look on-"

"WHAT THE FUCK!?" Schellick screams as he slams on the brakes. I grab onto the headrests of the front seats to stop myself from destroying the console. I turn around to see what's up, and standing in the middle of the road is a man. He has a gaunt, hunched figure, he has slicked back, slightly unruly black hair, and is wearing a black and red robe and cloak, with a large puffed out collar, and in one hand he is clutching some kind of book or tome. His eyes almost bulge out of his head and give off this look of pure insanity.

"Who the hell is this clown?" I say.

"Master! That's a Servant." Arturia says.

"Oh hell. Alright, Arturia, get out with me, I'll stay close in case he tries something. Mordred, stay in the car, you're in no shape to fight. Minaki, Schellick, keep your weapons on him."

Arturia and I get out of the car while Minaki rolls down her window, sits on the bottom portion of it with her body sticking out, and readies her M4. Schellick rolls down his window as well and holds his pistol out pointed at the man, one hand still on the wheel in case he needs to move the car. Arturia and I walk around to the front of the car and stand in front of the headlights, as we do this the man crouches to his knees and bows his head, bringing one arm across his chest. I notice that he has some kind of lines or runes traced along his arms. "I have come for you, my holy virgin." He says.

We're standing about fifteen feet away from him, "Huh?" I mumble. "Do you know him?" I ask Arturia.

"I don't think so." She says.

The man looks up, clenching his fists, his voice filled with some kind of poetic despair, "Don't say that! You must surely remember my face!" He opens his palms and I can see that his nails form claws. Weird.

"I have never seen you before this night." Arturia assures him, taking a step forward. "Perhaps you have me mistaken for another?"

The man clutches at his head and shakes it, then pats himself on the chest, "It's me! Gilles de Rais… I prayed for your resurrection, longed for the miracle that would reunite us, and even leapt through time to find you, Jeanne!"

Jeanne… Gilles de Rais… Holy Virgin… Holy shit, this guy knew Joan of Arc.

"I know neither your name, nor of the Jeanne of whom you speak." Arturia continues.

"No… Can you really have forgotten your past life?" Gilles is still on his knees, he assumes a pleading posture, holding his hands in front of him in a "why can't you understand?" kind of way.

"As you have revealed your true name to me, I am honor-bound, as a knight, to give you mine. I am Arturia, Daughter of Uther Pendragon, and King of Britain. Summoned to this era as the Saber class."

Gilles raises his head and lets out a shriek, "OH! How regrettable! How heart-wrenching! This isn't simple amnesia, but madness!" He starts sobbing into the ground. "Damn you… Damn you! Damn you! Damn you!" With each other word he punches the ground. "How much more torture must my maiden endure before God is sated!?" His words start to sound more like he's hissing them out rather than saying them.

"This guy is fucking nuts." I say.

"Ditto." I hear Schellick say behind me.

"Cease your pathetic ravings!" Arturia commands of Gilles, looking at him with disgust.

He stops, then looks at Arturia, "Awaken. Cast aside the mantle of Saber. The Holy Grail War has its victor already! Without spilling a single drop of blood, the Grail has chosen me, Gilles!" He looks down a little, "I know this, because my wish has been granted. My virgin angel, Jeanne d'Arc, has been revived!"

A blast of air shoots past him, creating a gouge in the road beside him. He stops, dumbfounded, and looks once more at Arturia. Her armor and sword are back on, and she is pointing her invisible blade at him. She lowers her sword and says, "Mock the prayers of our fellow Heroic Spirits further, and next time, I shan't miss! Stand up!"

I swear I hear some kind of laughter coming from the forest to our right, it's merely a chuckle, just barely audible, and I look to my right, but don't see anything, not even in EMF.

Gilles doesn't stand, "Your mind is locked away so tightly, Jeanne." He says quietly, "I suppose I have no choice." He lifts his head and closes his eyes. "Clearly, drastic measures are called for, and I must prepare accordingly." He stands, Arturia moves in front of me, ready to fight. I hear a car door open behind me, and I turn to see Mordred's door open.

" _Mordred, stay in the car."_

" _But I wanna-"_

" _No! I said you aren't fit to fight right now, stay in the damn car!"_

" _Ugh, dammit. Fine!"_ The door closes.

"I swear this to you, Jeanne. I will free your soul from the wretched curse of God." Gilles says, then he gives a bow and disappears.

"Holy hell, I can't even keep up with him." I sigh, I feel absolutely drained just talking to that guy.

"Next time I shall kill him before he can utter a single word. I loathe dealing with his type." She starts walking back to her door. "Nonetheless, we have been fortunate tonight. I could sense that he was far too dangerous an opponent to fight right now with my injuries." We get back in the car and continue our drive to the house.

…

Once we get back to the house, it's around midnight. I'm in pretty rough shape. Physically I'm fine, Avalon has seen to that, but as we pull up to the curb by the house I finally noticed how exhausted I feel. I think it's because of all the adrenaline from the fight finally wearing off. I stagger and stumble a little during the short walk to the door, I now feel drunk as well as tired, everything going a little blurry. Once we get through the entry way I almost collapse and stabilize myself on the table.

"Master, are you alright?" Arturia asks.

"Yeah boss, you ok? You look like shit." Schellick adds, supporting Mordred.

"I don't know, I think I'm just… Oh no." I start to get tunnel vision, the edges of my sight going black, and I look at Minaki, she's in a bad way too, not as bad as me, but she is slouching and swaying. I just remembered, Magical Circuits are effectively just another body system, and mana is the thing that keeps it running, like blood. If a person gets low on mana, they start feeling like they just ran a marathon or something. If a person runs completely out of mana, they just collapse and pass out, if they haven't already. Running out of mana isn't usually fatal unless it's prolonged, then a person can slip into a coma and just die like their body stopped working, but human bodies constantly replenish their mana reserves like cells, the world of magic has yet to figure out where exactly the mana comes from though, but most researchers seem to think that it comes from nutrients we gain from food that we eat. So really all I need to do is rest and eat, and I should be fine.

"I uh…. I think I know what's going on… You two…" I point weakly at Arturia and Mordred, "You two sucked a whole lot of mana out of me during the fight. Normally I'd be ok with you two sucking stuff out of me but this time it's a no no." My mind feels fuzzy, I start talking without really thinking about it. I giggle stupidly.

"Master, you're not making any sense, are you going to be alright?" Arturia and Mordred look at me with concern.

"Yeah, do we need to call an ambulance or something?" Schellick asks.

I shake my head in an exaggerated way, "Nah, nah, I just need to… yeah…. yeah, I need to get out of this. I- I just need to get naked and drink a little, get some food. Yeah." I feel absolutely horrible, it's like I've been awake for the last 48 hours and just started to crash from an overdose of coffee, and I just downed a dozen and a half shots of whiskey, and I haven't had any water in the last two days. I press a couple buttons on my exo suit and it opens up, allowing me to step out of it. My vision now makes me feel like I'm looking through a straw. I take one step forward, and suddenly the floor lurches up at me, I don't even register this sudden attack, I hear Mordred yell "Master!" before my vision goes completely black.

I open my eyes again, and I'm lying on my back staring at a ceiling. It's still dark outside. My head hurts a little but I don't feel quite as shitty as I just did. I look to my right and see my outfit that I was just wearing folded up neatly next to my bed, my phone and everything else I had in my pockets sitting on top. I grab my phone and feel myself, I'm in my underwear, and check the time. 0317, alright then, I turn to my left and freeze for a second. I must be in some weird dream because my dead wife is lying next to me. She's on her side and facing away from me, but in the dim moonlight from outside I can see her long blonde hair, slightly wavy but not too much, splayed out around her while she breathes slowly and evenly while she sleeps.

I roll over and shift myself so that I'm spooning with her, I wrap my arm around her abdomen as I bury my face in her neck, drinking in her scent. It's different than normal but still very nice, I wonder if she changed shampoos recently. She stirs slightly as I hug her, and I mumble into her ear, "I love you, Lilly."

She turns her head to look at me, and she says, "M- Master? What are you..?" in a very tired voice. But it's strange, I thought I'd remember her face easily, but there's a couple slight differences, her face looks a little younger than I remember, and her eyes are green rather than blue, and her voice sounds more like Arturia's than… Oh…. Oh. Oh no.

"S- Saber? Oh crap I'm so sorry! I thought- Uh- I- I didn't mean to…" I release her and scoot a few inches away. She rolls around to face me, she's wearing a simple white bra and I'm guessing matching underwear.

"It is alright Master, I should be the one to apologize, I should not have done something to confuse you like that… But Master, if I may ask, who is 'Lilly?'"

"Oh, um, she's my… uh… wife. She died about three years ago, from Ovarian Cancer."

"Oh, my condolences, Master."

"Thanks… Um… Arturia, what are you doing in bed with me?"

"Oh… w- well, when you collapsed, we carried you into your room, and when we undressed you and got you under the covers, you said that you were cold, and I couldn't find any other blankets to cover you with, so I decided that I would use my body heat to keep you warm by laying next to you."

"Hmm… thanks, but you know, there's a much better way to keep me warm."

"What's that, Master?"

I slip one arm under her and pull her onto me, her head resting on my shoulder and most of her body laying on top of mine. "Direct contact." I say.

"M- Master! You shouldn't just do things like that!"

"If you don't like it you can get off." I smile.

Arturia stays still for a moment, then says, "It's… I shall tolerate it, just this once." She places a hand on my chest and relaxes her head, and I wrap my arms around her in an embrace as I drift off to sleep.

In the morning I wake up feeling completely refreshed, it's around 0830, Arturia and I are in the same position as we were when I fell asleep. I look at Arturia, her face which normally seems so tense and unhappy now looks calm and peaceful as she continues to sleep. I decide that a moment like this can't go to waste, and I grab my phone from beside my pillow, trying not to disturb her, and I hold it up to take a selfie of me and her like this. Right before I take the picture, she opens her eyes and looks first at me, then the phone, her face still with that peaceful look. I give a small, content smile and press the button to take the picture.

"Master… Why did you do that?" She asks sleepily.

"...I guess so I can remember the good times." I respond as I get up. I put some casual clothes on and grab my computer and spellbook, then head out to the living room to have some breakfast and relax a bit before we start looking for Lancer's Master.


	8. Chapter 8

I slide open the door to my room and walk out, my laptop and book tucked under one arm. As soon as I walk out I hear music. I recognize it as "Hail to the King" by Avenged Sevenfold, coming from the sofas. I look and see Mordred laying on one of the couches, her back resting against the arm rest closest to the tv. She's on her phone, as always, which is the source of the music, and she has several empty snack bags and boxes on the table and floor around her. I don't know how long she's been hanging out there.

"Hey Mordred, how's your leg…" I say and then trail off as I look at her. Her leg is fine, but that's not what made me stop. She has a pocky stick in her mouth that she's idly chewing on while she's on her phone, three more sticks in between the fingers of one hand as she holds her phone in the other. My face goes red and my brain stops working as I see that she has on a pair of red panties, and… that's it. Luckily (or maybe unluckily) her position keeps me from actually seeing her tits but it's obvious that she's almost completely naked.

She looks up at me, "Ah, hey mastah, yer lookin' good." She says casually.

"Yeah. Better than yesterday, you're looking… good too." I respond, looking a couple feet to the left of her.

"Uh huh," She lifts up her right leg, rolls her ankle, and wiggles her toes, "Ah'm surprised, Astolfo din't lie ta us when she said tha' it would come back in a couple hours, it re-materialized sometime las' night, an' it actually din't hurt at all." Mordred says in a weird way, trying to keep the pocky stick in her mouth like a cigar while she talks.

"Alright, that's good." I say awkwardly, and I put my stuff on the table, go into the kitchen to grab and heat up a breakfast sandwich, and sit down. I look at my computer screen for a second, then decide that I'm gonna play a game and relax a bit before I delve into trying to find Lancer's Master. I click on an icon on my desktop for a game called _Total War: Atilla_ , it's a large scale medieval battle strategy game, where you control a medieval army and give them commands in real time to defeat the enemy, it's one of my favorite games of all time. As I wait for the game to load up I feel some kind of tension, it's probably just me, but I keep fighting the urge to look over at Mordred for no real reason. I take a deep breath in, "Uh… M- Mordred?" I get her attention.

She calls, "Yeah, Mastah?"

"So… Why, um…" I try to ask her why she's pretty much naked on the couch, but it's hard to get out, I don't know why she thinks it's ok to do that, it would be weird no matter what gender she is, but I'm not able to complete my question, since Arturia walks out of my room and as soon as she sees Mordred she goes into "irritated mom" mode.

"Sir Mordred! What do you think you are doing? Laying there in such a mess! And without clothes!"

"What's the big deal? We aren't doing anything until maybe tonight, if we have a reason to, I'll pick it up later."

I face palm as they start going at it, readying myself for the claws that are sure to come out. Arturia continues, "You should be more dignified than this! What if someone walked into this house right now? What then? And could you please explain why you aren't wearing any clothes!?"

"It's because- uh, I wanted to… I- I thought that…" She's being surprisingly apprehensive with her answer, normally she's very outspoken, saying what she thinks without caring what those around her thinks. "I uh… it- it was hot earlier so I stripped down to stay cool."

"I don't understand why you felt the need to do that since you wear so little under normal circumstances." Arturia retorts, at this time the door to Schellick and Minaki's room opens and Minaki wordlessly walks out, heading for the kitchen.

"Oh, so you're saying I'm some kind of nudist? Or a harlot? I like being able to move and breathe when I'm out doing stuff, maybe you'd understand if you wore something that looked less like a nun's outfit every once in a while!"

"My attire is nothing like that! We just haven't had an occasion to justify wearing less clothing."

"So lounging around the house isn't…"

I put in my headphones and start blasting some Sabaton to drown them out, they argue like this a lot but it's good that it never seems to blow out of proportion, yet. I play my game for a few minutes, and after a while I'm in the middle of a battle, and I'm starting to lose, my troops are slightly outnumbered by a slightly better army, it's a battle I'm very likely to lose, so my main goal is to maximize enemy casualties before my army is wiped out. "Fuck. Fuck! Dammit! Shit." I mutter as I play, pissed off at the inevitable fate that awaits me. I feel a presence behind me and I turn to see Arturia's face a few inches from mine, I recoil in surprise, but her attention is focused on my game. She's probably been watching for the last couple minutes, and she examines my paused game for a moment.

"If you move your remaining cavalry to the right flank then they will be able to break through." She says, eyes scanning the screen and devising a strategy.

I look, "...But the right flank is in a bunch of trees, if I send my cavalry in there then they'll be slowed down and spread out and won't charge as effectively, and they'll get destroyed by those spearman on the flank."

"That is true, but you don't need to charge with them, just send your infantry to attack the spear men, and while they're fighting you send your cavalry around to attack their flank in a pincer attack, either they'll move to attack the cavalry and get attacked in the rear from your infantry, or they'll keep fighting the infantry and get hit in the rear by the cavalry, or they will rout and retreat and you can pursue them with the cavalry, since the spearman are also slowed and disorganized in the forest."

"...Oh! Oh of course! Duh!"

As I move my troops I notice Mordred coming back out of her room looking very annoyed, Schellick has come out of his room and has turned on the tv to watch some anime, and Minaki has taken a seat at the table to eat the breakfast she's made. Arturia leans in a little more, focused on the game, I turn to look at her as she does this, she doesn't even glance at me, I realize that I can see down her shirt and I glance at her cleavage for _juuust_ a second before I return to what I was doing. Arturia continues, "Also, you ordered some of your archers to attack that unit of light infantry a little bit ago, but now they're engaged with your heavy infantry, and so your infantry is taking friendly fire from the back and-"

"Ah shit I forgot about them! I was so focused on the other flank!" I rapidly stop my archers from firing and look for another target for them.

"You should move your archers up and have them attack the enemy crossbows, that'll take pressure off your infantry and cavalry." Arturia keeps instructing me on what to do, I chuckle as I think that it would make sense that she knows more about this kind of thing than I do.

I feel another presence behind me and I turn, and once again I have to recoil before my face brushes against Mordred's, who is now peering over my other shoulder at the game. "But if he moves his archers up within range to attack the crossbows, they'll be right behind the front lines, that's pretty dangerous." She says.

"Yes but from the looks of it, the lines should hold for another couple minutes even without support from the archers, that'll be enough time to thin out the enemy missile infantry and that should give him enough of an advantage to win."

"Mmm." Is Mordred's only response, I'd expect her to argue more, especially since they were just yelling at each other a few minutes ago, but perhaps she sees this as training and a lesson for when she becomes king, I know that her life goal was to be a good king, at least as good as Arturia. Ultimately I do end up winning the battle, barely, I lose about 60 percent of my troops and another 10 percent rout and flee during the course of the battle, but the enemy ends up losing about 80 percent of his troops and the rest rout as the "Victory!" message pops up, allowing me to either end the battle there or pursue the fleeing enemies to cut down as many as I can before they leave the battle area. I choose to end the battle and sit back, having to constantly micromanage so many units and think about tactics to use to win, and adapt to a changing battlefield environment can drain you mentally, no matter how much experience you have.

I exhale, "I'm gonna be honest, I didn't think that would work." I say with a chuckle.

"Did you not trust my judgment, Master?" Arturia asks, she sounds a little hurt.

"No, I did, I know you have experience with this kind of thing, it's just that this is a game, not some simulation, games aren't usually able to take into account things that only really work in real life, it's all programming and random number generating. It's kinda like the War we're fighting now, it's completely different than a standard conflict, our enemies fight in weird ways…" I trail off as I remember Lancer's Master, how he wanted the Lancers to fight my Servants in a two on one fight. Then I remember his voice, and I realize something, so I jump up and go back into my room and pry my helmet camera off of my helmet.

The camera is basically a GoPro, it records audio and video, and I just turn it on and off by pressing a button on it. I take the camera and a cord back to my computer and plug it in. A few minutes later and I'm watching the video of our fight again, I replay the parts where Lancer's Master is talking, and it finally clicks in my brain where I've heard his voice before. I call everyone over to me.

"Okay, I'm pretty sure that the voice we heard last night, Lancer's Master, belongs to Kayneth El Melloi Archibald. He's a very famous mage, he's kinda like the Stephen Hawking of magic, having mastery of several magic fields such as Conjuration, Abjuration, Alchemy, and Necromancy. He's the head of the Archibald family, as well as the El-Melloi faction, one of the groups of mages fighting for general control over the magical world. He was a lecturer at the Clock Tower and I sat in on a few of his classes. He's a very aristocratic person, he believes that bloodlines are the most important thing for mages, and looks down on anyone not from an old renowned family of mages."

He's very posh and arrogant, he has a snarky, nasal voice that makes him sound like someone from a royal family that no one likes. After doing a little more research on him I find out that he's engaged to a woman named Sola-Ui, it's an arranged marriage so I imagine that one or both of them aren't too thrilled about it.

"So… what you're saying is, he's an asshole." Schellick says after I finish my research.

"Yes, he's an asshole and I'm gonna kill him if I can. He's now an enemy because he decided it was fair to pair up his Servants and the Berserkers against my Servants. Also we need to get rid of the curse on Arturia so she can fight at 100% strength… Alright, I'm gonna go get ready for the day and then I'll take the Servants to get some stuff we need. You two," I point at Minaki and Schellick, "Need to start working on finding Kayneth, see if he's renting a house or something, call up hotels to see if he's bought a room, or search the city records to see if he owns property here. I want to try and take him down tonight if we can."

Everyone acknowledges what I just said, and I go take a shower before heading out.

…

An hour or so later, we head out to go get groceries, I notice for the first time that Arturia has a pair of brown boots that go up to her calves, which makes more sense to wear while out and about than her sandals. I drive us to a shopping district in a different area than our little suburban market near our house, and when I park our car and we make it to this strip mall on some docks, I give my Servants each one of my credit cards and tell them, "Go ahead and buy anything you want, just don't go overboard, I've got plenty of money but try not to spend more than a couple hundred dollars."

They nod to me and we disperse after wandering for a bit to look at what kind of shops are around.

I grab some groceries for dinner tonight and after about half an hour in the grocery store I exit and start wandering a bit. I pop into a book store to browse for something I might like to read, but after about 15 minutes I don't find anything too interesting, so I exit back onto the boardwalk. I stroll down the alley, passing people who are also taking the afternoon to shop, and I pass a jewelry store, glancing at the window display, I see a familiar face inside, and I go in. Mordred is inside already, asking the shop owner about a certain piece that I can't see. I wander through the store and glance at the items in the case, looking for something that my daughter or mother might like.

I crouch down to examine some kind of brooch or necklace and I hear Mordred talking with the shop owner.

"...made with Sterling silver, and uses Lapis Lazuli and Citrine to make the emblem, very beautiful work, yes?"

"Uh, yeah, I don't know what any of that is, I just want to know how much it costs."

"Oh, well, sterling silver is silver made with copper to strengthen it since silver itself is somewhat soft, and… oh, sorry! It'll be… 17,000 yen."

"Oof, ok, I can do that… Ah shit!" I peek my head up to see what the problem is, "I'm sorry, I left my money in another store! I'll be back in a minute!" Mordred says as she turns and bolts out of the store, not even noticing me. I get up and walk over to where Mordred was and look in the case, inside there's a silver necklace with a charm on it, in the shape of a shield or coat of arms, it has a blue background with a yellow x on it.

"Can I help you find anything?" The shop owner asks me.

"Oh no thanks, I was just looking… What does this symbol mean?" I point to the necklace.

"The one that young lady was just looking at? If I remember correctly, it's an old English knights cross banner, it's supposed to represent the coat of arms of England at some point in history."

I nod, now I see why Mordred was so interested in it, "I'll take it." I say with a grin.

"Oh, uh, w- well that young lady said she was going to be right back so-"

"It's ok, that's my step-daughter." I have to mentally pause for a second after saying that, it sounds so weird to say that about Mordred, even if it is a lie. "And plus, she's using one of my cards, so I'm paying for it no matter what, and now it can be a surprise gift."

She thinks on this for a moment, "Hmm, well, ok."

"Thank you, just tell her that some random person came in while she was gone and bought it." The shop owner gets out the necklace and puts it in a small box. "Oh and also, I'd like to buy a necklace over there." I point to where I was examining the other jewelry. A couple minutes later and I've bought the necklace for Mordred as well as a large oval shaped emerald necklace for my daughter.

I leave the store quickly, trying to blend in as well as I can with the crowd of people. I continue to wander through the stores until I come across a small shop that sells swords and other weapons, mainly katanas, but there are a few European and even Middle Eastern swords. I see Arturia inside talking with the shopkeeper, so I go in.

She and the shopkeeper are having a conversation about how katanas are made or something like that, and I casually look at the displays on the wall, the store also has a lot of martial arts gear, and when I get near the two the shopkeeper says, "...and these days the steel is tempered with- oh excuse me. Hello sir, looking for anything specific today?"

" Not really, she's in here," I gesture to Arturia, "So I decided to pop in and see what's up." I walk past Arturia and put a hand on her shoulder and squeeze slightly, saying "Hey babe." She looks at me, slightly confused, but catches on and smiles at me before returning to her conversation. I look at some European swords, simple two-edged arming swords, and I see a barrel full of wooden practice swords, those round ones made of strips of wood, and think that it would be fun to get some and practice sparring with the Servants. The only problem I can see occurring is that swords these days are usually designed to be decorative or used in stage combat, so they're not made to be tough like old swords, and they aren't that sharp usually, so trying to spar with the Servants might break them unless we can figure out a way to strengthen them. After Arturia looks at a couple katanas, we end up buying three wooden swords, a couple arming swords, and a cheap katana.

We exit the store and I text Mordred to meet us at a food court, and after a couple minutes we see her and wave her over to the table we sat down at. We put all our bags down and I let them go get food from wherever they want, I stay to watch the groceries. They come back with bags of some Japanese fast food, mainly rice and meat with some kind of sauce. I get up once they get back and go to some random restaurant since all the ones in the immediate area around the tables are a bunch of Japanese fast food chains I've never heard of. I end up getting some gyuudon, it's pretty much just shredded beef on steamed rice, similar to what my Servants got, from some restaurant called Sukiya.

We eat our meals, I keep looking at my Servants as we eat, they both look very happy while they eat, it makes me smile seeing them find so much pleasure in such a simple thing. "Find anything you like, Mordred?" I ask.

She sighs a little, "Nah, not really, I just got some snacks and... stuff... I saw this really cool necklace in a store but I… Uh… had to do something else real quick, and when I was gone some asshole bought it." When she finishes she props her elbow on the table and rests her head in her palm in a sulking manner.

"I look at her for a moment with an inquisitive look. "You lost my card didn't you."

"No! No, it's not lost, I just, well, accidentally left it in another store."

I hold out my hand, "give it." She fishes my card out of her pocket and gives it to me. "Congratulations, you just lost your card privileges." Mordred looks angrily at her empty food bag, probably frustrated with herself for doing something so clumsy. "But, as a good job gift for the fight, Arturia, you can have the katana, and Mordred, I got you something."

I fish in my bags for the little box containing the blue necklace that she wanted, and I place it on the table in front of her. She opens up the box and looks at me, "Ah, Master, th- thank… wait… wait a minute! You asshole! Jerk! Idiot! You made me feel like shit!"

I laugh, "No, I taught you a lesson. Come on, some ice cream should cheer you up."

"Ice cream?" Both my Servants look at me.

"Yeah, let's go."

We get up and I look around, then get on my phone to find a ice cream shop nearby. We walk over to a small stand that serves simple scoops of ice cream on a waffle cone. I order all of us a double scoop cone, one chocolate and one vanilla. I hand my Servants their ice cream and we figure out how to hold all our bags and the cones as we make our way to the car, I watch them as they take their first licks and bites of the frozen dessert, and once again I smile at how cute they both look while they eat it, they giggle like children after they recoil from the sudden coldness, but once they get used to it they start happily biting into it.

"This is… This is amazing Master!" Mordred says, "What did you say this was again?"

"Ice cream."

"Ice cream… Alright, we need to get a lot more of this for the house!"

I chuckle, "You two are gonna get fat by the time we're done, but ok, I'll get some tubs of it next time I'm out getting stuff."

We get to the car and head back to the house, listening to songs by Skillet. Once we're back at the house we put our groceries where they need to go. Schellick and Minaki are on their computers at the table, notebooks next to them on the table with a good amount of notes written on them. "What do we got?" I ask as I come back into the room from mine.

"Well, we looked into Mr. Archibald, turns out he does not have any property here in Fuyuki, so we called the hotels and it turns out he's bought a room at the Grand Fuyuki Hotel in the center of the city, the hotel itself is on North 2nd Street, it has 35 stories, he's staying in room 3024, a suite on the 30th floor, on the east end of the building. The dumbass didn't even use a fake name." Schellick reports.

"The good thing is that there's a construction site of another skyscraper nearby with a really good line of sight to the room, as well as another skyscraper right across the street on that side, so I should be able to give good overwatch while you guys try to take him. Also, I got into the nearby CCTV and found that he entered the hotel last night after our fight and hasn't left since." Minaki adds.

I think for a moment. "Alright, we'll hit him tonight, keep watch on the hotel and let me know if he moves." I go into the kitchen and start preparing dinner. A while later, after I made dinner and we all ate and prepared our stuff, we head out to the hotel, me driving and Schellick in the passenger seat.

During the ride I play some random music on my phone, and the first song to come on is, "I Was Made for Lovin' You" by Kiss, and Schellick and I have a field day singing and dancing along to it. Schellick might be a pain in the ass to me, but he and I both enjoy singing and listening to the same kind of music. At some point during the song I look back at the women, all of them have an amused but annoyed look on their faces, and I laugh when I see them.

"Master, why do you do that?" Arturia asks loudly, so that she can be heard over the music. I'm glad the windows in the car are tinted, it would be weird indeed for someone to look at us as we drive by and see a bunch of Americans in combat suits jamming out to some classic rock. "Why do you treat this situation as if it's not serious?"

"Life is too serious to take seriously," I say, "Enjoy life while you're living it, no regrets."

…

I sit down and turn on my helmet camera, and we wait for Minaki to give us the go-ahead. Myself, my Servants, and Schellick are on the roof of the hotel, Minaki is currently on her way to her position at the skyscraper construction site about half a mile from the hotel. We parked the car at the construction site, and Schellick and I, along with my Servants, went to the hotel on foot from there, using our grapnels to get up on the roof, carrying the Servants. Minaki set up her gear at the site then went in civilian clothes to set off the fire alarm in the hotel, and watch to see if Kayneth would leave. If he didn't then we'd have a short window of time between the building being cleared and emergency services showing up to take out Lancer.

As we expected, Kayneth didn't leave, and we're waiting to breach his room. I'm looking at my phone, reading up on the lore surrounding Arturia and Mordred, and I come across a painting of Mordred, it's probably the most common depiction of him: He's standing in a battlefield, wearing black armor and a helmet with bat wings on the sides, his sword pointed down, impaling a body, hands on the pommel and his chin resting on his hands, one leg crossed in front of the other. I look up at Mordred, she and Arturia are standing about 15 feet in front of me, illuminated slightly from the glow of the city lights. Arturia has her armor on, her head bowed slightly as she either thinks hard about something or maybe meditates, Mordred is still in her casual clothes, but she has her sword out, and she's resting on it in almost the exact same way as the painting. I chuckle at the similarities and she glances at me, "What?"

"Nothing." I reply, shaking my head as I return to my phone, shortly afterward I hear a click from my earpiece.

"Scepter-6, this is Scepter-9, I'm in position and have clear line of sight to the target. No movement. Bastard never even turned his light on."

"Roger." I stand up, everyone looks at me, "Alright, I'm gonna take 2, we'll be the initial shock team. 8, you wait about ten seconds and then enter with 1."

Schellick nods and I walk with Mordred to about the middle of the roof, "You ready?" I ask.

"Always, Master."

She starts running towards the edge of the roof and I follow about five feet behind her. She jumps off the roof and twists in mid-air, as do I, deploying my grapnel when I'm facing the sky. The grapnel catches on the railing of the roof as I see the building become illuminated as it reflects a flash of red light from below me. Once I confirm my grapnel won't move I continue my rotation to turn back around and extend my arm, Mordred is now in her suit of armor, and as we grab each other's wrists she flashes her characteristic aggressive grin, a spark igniting in her eyes as her helmet encloses on her head. I pull her around and turn again so that she's on my back, her arm around my shoulders, when I turn to face the building. Momentum carries me toward the building and I push off a pane of glass two floors above our target, cracking the window. I stop the grapnel rope and swing into the window of Kayneth's suite, kicking and shattering the window, skidding to a halt on my knees about five feet past the window. I retract my rope and draw my M4, Mordred readying her sword beside me.

While I wait for my rope to reel in I turn my visor to night vision and scan the room, it's a standard hotel suite main lounging room, with a few chairs and sofas, and a coffee table between them with a small tv bolted to the wall near them, a dining table and a couple stools close to the window, as well as a minibar along one wall. To my left is the door that leads to the main hallway, as well as a small closet door, and to my right is a set of double doors that leads to the bedroom. Mordred and I advance to the bedroom doors as Schellick and Arturia rappel in through the window we came through.

I listen at the door, nothing, and nod my head to Mordred. She boots down the door and enters, followed by myself and then Arturia, Schellick staying back to watch the hall door. The bedroom is fairly plain, only having a dresser along the wall with the door and a king size bed along a wall on our left facing the windows, two small nightstands next to it. There's absolutely no one in the room, almost no indication that anyone's been in recently, and I sweep through, opening a door opposite the room's main door to peek into a bathroom, which is also empty. I turn to my teammates, Mordred and Arturia are just inside the room, standing by the bed which is roughly in the middle of the wall, and Schellick is in the door frame leaning against it.

I get on my radio, "Scepter-9, this is Scepter-6, there's no one here, you sure we got the right room?"

"Wait one… Yep, right floor, right side, right number, that's the one he's supposed to be in."

I switch my visor to EMF, everything turns to a deep blue color and shapes are slightly distorted. I can just barely make out the lines of most objects, and as I look around, only the silhouettes of Arturia and Mordred show up in a bright white color. I switch back to night vision, "Ok, are you sure that he didn't slip out when you pulled the alarm?"

"I scanned every face that went outside and had a camera watching his room, he never came outside."

I bring up my M4 to sling it on my back, "Then how the fuck did-" I freeze with my weapon on my back, my hand still on the buttstock. I noticed a strange light reflecting off my rifle as I moved it. I look up and see a glowing red symbol on the ceiling, it's a symbol I recognize from my pyromancy class at the Clock Tower, I only remember it because there was a girl that sat next to me in the lectures who, once we learned it, wouldn't stop doodling it into her notebook, like she was obsessed with it, I can't remember what her actual name was, we just called her Meg. The symbol is fairly simple but terrifying to anyone who knows what they're looking at. My eyes go wide as I realize what it is, as it starts pulsating and getting brighter.

I scream "Out! Out! Get out now! Everyone out!" as I start running out of the room. Schellick wastes no time and darts toward the window we came through. My Servants, however, take a second to respond, and by the time I catch up to them they're standing by the window, realizing that they have no way to save themselves should they jump. Schellick has already jumped and is on his way down. I grab them and lift them onto my shoulders as I jump.

The reason for my sudden fear is that the symbol on the ceiling stands for "explosion."

I turn as I jump and once we're about 15 feet below the floor that the room was on, a blast filled with heat, flames, glass, and debris erupts from the entire floor of the building. I continue to spin and shoot my grapnel towards the office building across the street from the hotel. It catches on something and I feel us in, I see Schellick zipping towards the same building about a floor or two below us.

As we near the building I bring my feet in front of me to kick the window in, I see that my grapnel caught a pane of glass, cracking it slightly, luckily the glass held. A couple late shift workers come to the window to see what's going on, but quickly back away once they notice us. I shatter the window with my feet but have nothing to stop my momentum, so we end up rolling into a cubicle, me unceremoniously discarding my Servants as we tumble. We land next to each other as people start asking things along the lines of "What the hell is going on?"

We rise to our knees, and Mordred gets up, brandishing her sword, striding towards the window, ready to fight whoever set that trap, but I know what comes next after a skyscraper loses an entire floor, and I grab her wrist and pull her back down, bringing both Servants' faces to my chest as I scream for everyone to get down. Sure enough, the hotel collapses, thousands of tons of steel and concrete crashing straight down, creating a dust cloud that shoots up and out with enough force to shatter the rest of the windows on the building we're in, causing people around us to scream, a sound just audible over the crashing and banging of the collapse. My vision becomes obscured and it becomes difficult to breathe for a minute as the air turns to ash, but once the dust starts to settle I pick up my Servants and we make our way to a stairwell, meanwhile I clear my throat and get on comms, "Scepter-8, Scepter-6. You good?"

"Yeah, boss, I *cough* made it."

"Good, meet us up on the roof and we'll make our way back to 9."

"Roger."

We ascend the stairs and I look back at my Servants, I can hear Schellick below us bouncing up the steps trying to catch up, "You two good?"

They look up at me, covered in dust, ash, dirt, specks of concrete. Their faces are about as stoic as usual but there's a little bit of shell shock in their eyes, they've probably never seen such raw destruction up close like that, but they both nod at my question, and we continue to the roof.

…

We linked up with Minaki and are now in our car on our way to the house, Minaki is driving and I'm in the passenger seat, thinking about what just happened. Lancer's Master was willing to kill a whole lot of civilians just to kill me, I mean he pretty much tried to drop a building on us, it's a good thing that we cleared the building before we entered, otherwise I don't know how many people would be dead right now. He's also a little more crafty than I gave him credit for as a mage, I was expecting some barriers and defenses set up in the hallway, that's why I went through the window, but I wasn't expecting the magical equivalent of an IED. But how the hell did he get out without us noticing? I guess it could've been some kind of invisibility spell, that's definitely not out of the realm of possibilities for him.

I start playing some Breaking Benjamin, and I look back at my Servants, I notice that Mordred and Arturia look very sullen, Mordred is sitting in the middle, and she's staring straight ahead, but she doesn't notice me looking at her even though I'm clearly in her sight. "You two good?" I ask. Both Mordred and Arturia snap themselves out of their thoughts. They look at me and nod, I look at Mordred, "What're you thinking about?"

For some reason Mordred won't look at me, "Ah, uh, I was just thinking, uh, how we could beat these guys, it's hard though, I mean the Servants are pretty powerful, but I know we can beat the Servants, but the Masters are another matter, they're also pretty powerful, I mean Lancer's Master just destroyed a building. Another thing is that I thought we had to keep this War a secret for the most part, but I'm pretty sure that destroying a hotel and possibly killing hundreds of people would give us a lot of attention right?"

I nod, "True, it's annoying when you feel like you're the only one playing by the rules. The problem is that the only real rules in the War is to keep the general public from finding out about it, anything else comes down to personal morals and ethics. You and I, as well as the Lancers and Riders, seem to be the only ones that really care about chivalry. Everyone else, well, if it works it works."

Mordred gives a big "humpf" of a sigh and mumbles, "That's stupid, why can't everyone be like us, it would be so much easier."

I chuckle, "Yeah, but I guess we'll have to figure out other ways to get an advantage."

"...Yeah." Mordred once again avoids eye contact as she once again becomes lost in thought. We continue the rest of the trip in silence, listening to the music.

…

Three days go by with little activity, we spend our days training and looking for other Masters on the computer, and our nights out patrolling the city. I find out through my Servants telling me during one of our patrols that Arturia and Mordred are able to sense the presence of other Servants, it's nothing amazing, they can just tell that a Servant is within about a kilometer of themselves, and the feeling gets slightly stronger the closer the Servant is. I also start having strange dreams where I see scenes from Mordred's and Arturia's lives from their own perspectives. Yesterday we found what looked like Caster and his Master walking through the city late at night, we couldn't track them too much, a lot of the cameras in that part of the city are busted, it's not a very good part of town, and the city hasn't gotten around to fixing them yet. We've now been at this house for about a week. Today I went by myself to get groceries, Arturia and Mordred were sparring with their practice swords when I left and didn't want to disturb them, and I told Minaki and Schellick to relax for the day, since they've been putting in work for quite a few days now.

When I get back I walk past Schellick and Minaki, who are both sitting on the front lawn enjoying a drink in the late afternoon light. My hands are full from the bags of groceries. Schellick looks at me and tips his sunglasses down, "I wouldn't go in there right now if I was you, boss." He says with a grin.

I kick my shoes off in the entryway and go in the main area, setting my bags down on the table as I hear shouting from Mordred's room.

"I am not wearing a damn dress, Father! How many times do I have to say it!?"

"Mordred, please, Master said that he's taking us dancing tomorrow night and I think we should look nice."

I start walking towards Mordred's room, the door is closed but I can hear them arguing like they're standing next to me, it's a wonder that it can't be heard from outside.

"I don't care if I look nice or not! I'm not trying to impress the people at the dance! I will not stoop to wearing something so girly!"

"A dress is not 'girly' Mordred, it shows class and refinement. But fine, if you insist on not wearing a dress then maybe-"

"Don't go looking through my stuff! Geesh, give me some privacy Father!"

"What's the issue, it's not like you have anything to hi- What is this!? Who is this for!?"

"No, no, no! Give that back! You're not supposed to see that! No one's supposed to see that except Ma- Aaaaaah!"

I slide open the door.

"Shut up! Get out of my room, Father!"

I only register seeing the back of Arturia, and then she ducks as Mordred throws something at her, and that something slaps onto my face and I recoil back as my vision becomes obscured.

"No! Master! Wait, wait, I can explain!" Mordred babbles.

I pull whatever hit me off of my face and look at it for about half a second before Mordred snatches it out of my hand. It's… a red, silken, see-through lingerie thong.

"Mordred… what?..." I stand there, confused.

"Dammit! Dammit dammit dammit! Damn you Father! See what you've done!? Now Master thinks I'm some kind of harlot!"

"Mordred, you have no one to blame but yourself for owning such debaucherous attire!"

Mordred stuffs the underwear back into her bag of clothes, and in the time it takes her to do that I've made up my mind. I growl. "Alright, that's it!" I then grab both of them by the hair and pull them both over towards the table.

"Kyaah! What the hell, Master!?"

"Master, what are you- gaaaah!"

They both cry in pain as I drag them towards the kitchen table, hooking a chair with my foot and kicking it towards my room. It lands by my door and I pull them over to it. I let go of Arturia and tell her to sit in the chair after I set it back upright.

She complies, looking at me in fear, as I'm sure my face is a mask of anger right now.

I'm still holding on to Mordred. "First off, I don't give a shit about your underwear, Mordred, I don't care what either of you wear, wear whatever you want, I think you two would look good in anything. But you know what? I'm getting real sick of having to put up with you two bitching at each other over some bullshit all the fucking time! So now, you've forced my hand, I'm gonna make you two fix this shit." I have an idea in my head of something that might work to make them not hate each other as much, I guess I'll see if it works.

I have Arturia stay in the chair while I take Mordred into my room. I close the door and let her go, and have her sit on my bed. I sit across from her and say, "Ok… Mordred, I want you to vent to me about your Father."

"...Huh?"

"Obviously you either can't or don't want to say to Arturia what you feel like you should say, so pretend I'm Arturia and say whatever you want to."

"But Master, I don't think that'll-"

"Just!.. *sigh* just try it. Please."

"Ok, um…" she looks down, thinking about what she might want to say. She looks back up at me a couple times, then back down, opening her mouth like she's about to speak, but then she stops. "Argh, this is stupid!" She finally lets out.

"Mordred, I'm doing everything I can short of using a command seal to try and rectify this situation. Just try it."

She takes a deep breath, and looks at me intently, almost angrily. She opens her mouth and starts talking.

…

About five minutes later, I open the door and Mordred walks out, I beckon for Arturia to come in, and I go through the same process with her.

…

Another five or so minutes go by, and I walk back out with Arturia. I grab a couple chairs and put them next to the one that Mordred is sitting in so that they are all facing each other. We all sit down and I say, "Ok, I'm going to try something, bear with me, I've never attempted anything like this before." I grab their heads and lean forward, making all of us sit so that our foreheads are touching. We all close our eyes and I then take a second to gather my thoughts and then do my best to project them into both Arturia and Mordred. The thoughts I'm trying to project are combinations of what Arturia and Mordred just said to me, put together to almost make a conversation.

"Mordred, I know that you must hate me…"

"Father… I know I've said before that I hate you…"

"But I want to tell you that… I am sorry…"

"But I never wanted to hate you, I was probably more mad at myself than anyone else…"

"I'm sorry for all the pain I caused you, but I know now that it was really your mother's fault…"

"I was lead to believe things that I knew I shouldn't have, Mother always said-"

"Your mother was a lying harlot! She used you as she used me! She hated me and wanted nothing more than to bring ruin to me!"

"She kept saying how horrible you were and told me I was going to replace you, but when I met you I didn't hate you, I idolized you! I wanted to be like you, I wanted to show you that I was worthy of simply being in the same room as you!"

"When I first met you, even without knowing who you were, I could tell that you were special, I knew some wouldn't approve but I wanted you on my Round Table…"

"I did everything I could to show you I was the best, and then I found out that I was your son, it made me overflow with joy to think that I was related to someone as amazing as you!"

"When I found out that you were my son, I wanted to be happy, but part of me was infuriated at Morgan for her schemes, and the rest of me simply didn't know how to respond, I never knew how to think emotionally, only logically, I only thought of the political implications of acknowledging you as my son."

"I was so honored to be your son! I looked up to you more than anyone else! I wanted to be you more than anyone else! I hoped that you would accept me, even with the messed up circumstances of my existing, even with my cursed inhuman body, but you didn't! You despised me, Father! You looked at me with disgust!"

"Never once did I despise you, I couldn't accept you as my son and let you eventually become king, because I knew what it would do to you…"

"Why, Father? Why did you disown me!? I could've done it, I could've been an amazing king with you to show me the way, so why!?"

"I told you that you didn't have the capacity of a king, but that was not an insult. Being a king made me cold and heartless, I lost my humanity when I pulled that sword from the stone, I see that now, and I didn't want someone as bright and lively as you to turn into me…"

"Even when we fought at Camlann, even when I laid on the ground bleeding and dying, you wouldn't even look at me, Father! All I wanted was to touch you, yet you denied me even that! Why!? How could you do that to your own child!?"

"I couldn't look at you… What parent wants to look at their own child after they've just killed them in cold blood?"

"Father, I… I want you to know that even then, I never really hated you… I hated myself because my only purpose in life was to kill you, yet I still loved you, Father."

"Mordred, I've had a very long time to think about what I did in life, and I now see that I was destined to fail as a king. It wasn't your fault, but your mother's. I will never hate you, because you are my child… and I will always love you, Mordred, my son…"

I open my eyes and pull my head back, as my Servants do the same. Both of them are holding back tears, Arturia has a sad smile on her face and Mordred is grimacing slightly and clenching her fists trying not to cry. My intended idea went through, not only did the words reach both of them, but the feeling, the emotion behind them. Mordred's desperate desire for a reason why she was disowned, Arturia's parental love that drove her actions, both of their grief and regret and sadness. I just showed them that they aren't as different as they probably think. Mordred's entire life goal has been to prove that she's at least as good as Arturia, and Arturia has wanted to feel emotions like a normal person, and to have someone to give her crown to.

Mordred looks down, refusing to even glance at either Arturia or me. I notice a couple teardrops fall from her face into the floor. Arturia, with tears streaming down her face, slowly and a little hesitantly moves her hand toward Mordred, cupping her cheek and raising her head so that they are looking at each other.

"Mordred…"

"Nn…" Mordred bites her lip, blinking water out of her eyes.

"I… I am proud of you."

"UUUWWWAAAAAAAA!" Mordred lets out a wailing sob and lunges forward, burying her face in Arturias chest and wrapping her arms around her tightly, crying into her Father wholeheartedly now. "Father! I… I'm so- so- sorry! *sob* I love you Father! I love you more than anything else in this world! I… I just wanted to be your equal… I just wanted you to call me your son! *sniff* It's all my fault! It's all my fault, if I hadn't been so… *sob* so stupid to believe Mother! I could've been a good king, I could've been someone you could be proud of! But I'm not! I'm just a colossal failure! I tired to be a knight and failed! I tried to be a king and failed! I tried to… to be your… *sob*"

The rest of Mordred's speech just dissolves into sobbing and wailing. Arturia rests her chin on Mordred's head and strokes her hair. "Mordred, it's alright, as Master has said, that's in the past, nothing we can do can change that. What we can do is hold on to the ideals we had in life. I'm no longer a king, and we are no longer in Camelot. You and I are knights, and you are my son. I will cherish every moment we spend together, and do what I can to make amends for my past mistakes. If you would do the same, then it matters not if we win or lose this war."

"No… no, now I'm gonna make damn sure we win, I don't want all this to be for nothing."

Arturia pushes Mordred away gently so that they can look at each other again. Both of their eyes are red from crying, and Mordred is constantly wiping tears off her cheeks.

"That's the spirit. Now, keep your head up, Sir Mordred. We still have a war to fight and it is unbecoming of a knight to wallow in self pity." Arturia says with a smile.

Mordred smiles as well, tilting her chin up a little to look more like her usual cocky self. "Yes Father… I'm still not wearing that stupid dress though."

They both giggle and embrace each other, staying like that for a minute or two.

Damn that was dramatic, but I think it worked. I pull out my phone and stop recording from my glasses, which I've had on this whole time. After watching them merrily hugging each other for a minute, their eyes closed and a smile on both their beautiful faces like they don't have a care in the world, something stirs within me.

I just realized how much these two matter to me. Despite the looming knowledge that our time together is so short, I've already grown very close to them, they're like family to me and I love them in a way that I can't quite describe. I only wish that they could stay here after the War if we win. "You know what? I want a hug too." I say as I wrap my arms around my Servants and lift them as I stand up, raising them slightly above my head and holding them both off the ground in a bear hug.

They both squeal a little as I lift them up and we laugh. "Hahahaha! You're the best, Master!" Mordred says.

I set them back down and we move to the couches and relax. "Thanks Mordred, But be careful, I think we're reaching our cliché limit." I joke.

"Nah, Master, I'm serious! I doubt any of the other Masters give a shit about their Servants like you do. Most of them don't do anything more than bark orders and use command seals. But you make this memorable, you show us this world and let us see that it's just more than the Holy Grail War."

Arturia nods her agreement, "Yes, Master, it's unexpected but refreshing, I am glad to have you as my Master."

I shrug, trying to stay humble, I can feel my ears reddening in embarrassment from all this praise. "I just have a habit of treating people like family until they do something to make me think otherwise. The rest of the Masters look at their Servants and just see weapons to be used, I see you for what you are: people, and I treat you as such. You're more like a companion than a Servant to me."

My two Servants smile at me… are they choking up? They don't say anything.

" _Thank you, Master."_ I hear them both say in my head.

"What the hell?" I hear Schellick from the entryway, I turn to look at him, he and Minaki just came in and he continues, "15 minutes ago you two were about to kill each other, now you're all buddy buddy? The fuck did you do boss? Use the rest of your command seals?"

I just noticed that Arturia and Mordred are sitting so close together that they're touching, and they've never done that before, whenever they've had to sit together they're as far away from each other as possible. I laugh and say, "No, I blackmailed them."

"With what?"

I grin impishly "Wouldn't you like to know."


	9. Chapter 9

**All Reader units, this is Author-6. Be advised, recon has spotted a Lemon element in your immediate AO. I'll leave it up to you on how to deal with it, either you can take it head on or move around it and continue the mission. Whether or not you decide to engage will not affect the mission, but if you want as much intel as you can get, engage. If you don't like Lemons, skip to chapter 11, over and out.**

Later that night, it's around 2345, I was the last one to go to bed, and now I'm in my underwear sitting up on my computer in my bed analyzing the enemy Servants and their abilities. I'm currently working on the two Archers. It looks like the golden one pulls his weapons from some kind of pocket dimension or possibly some sort of wormhole between wherever his "armory" is and where he's at at the time he decides to use his Noble Phantasm. The other one, the guy in the red coat, is a different matter. During our fight I broke the two blades that he used six times, with my regular combat blades and comparatively sub-par strength, and each time he instantly re-materialized it. He seems to have a similar ability to summon weapons but he doesn't pull them from some dimension, it's almost like he-.

My door slides open and I see Mordred peeking her head in, "Hey, Master, you still up? Mind if I come in?"

"Sure, come in," I say, momentarily distracted from my thoughts but still looking at my screen, focused on my footage of the crimson Archer. Crimson Archer? Sounds kinda badass, like a superhero or something. "What's up?" I ask as Mordred closes the door behind her.

"Ah, nothing much, I couldn't sleep and got bored, normally Father and I can kinda force ourselves to sleep since we don't really need to, but I can't," she sits down on the end of my bed, she's wearing the same white t-shirt that she always sleeps in and little else as usual. Her hair is also down, and though I've seen it down a couple times I never really paid attention to it, when it's down it still splays out everywhere and actually looks really cute. I glance up at her and notice that she's grabbing the bottom of her shirt and pulling it down a little in the front, which causes her breasts to be slightly more pronounced, "so I was gonna go out and do a little patrolling near the house, but I saw that your light was still on and wanted to see what you were up to."

"Not much, I was just trying to figure out how the Archers' abilities work."

"Oh… any luck?"

"Not really, I've never seen their abilities before, it's like they just pull their weapons out of thin air, I have no idea how they could do it."

"Huh," she picks up a water bottle that I had by my bed and looks at me, "do you mind?"

"Nah, go ahead."

My attention is ripped from my screen when Mordred opens the bottle and, rather than drinking it like I thought she would, pours the water onto her face, hair, and chest.

"What the hell are you doing!?" I ask, bewildered.

She turns red and turns away from me a little, covering her now observable chest with her arms, "W- well, I'm trying to set the mood!" She says, sounding frustrated.

I blink, "...Set what mood?"

"I… I thought that from how powerful our enemies are, we should take any advantage that we can get and, well, do a… a mana transfer ritual." She mumbles the last few words as if she's saying something naughty.

"What? Don't I already transfer mana to you through our pact? And isn't that just some spell? We don't need to do all that."

"Well yeah, we do already share mana but, if we do the ritual then it'll be more effective, and… the ritual is more than just the hand on chest magic words thing."

"What? I am so confused, give me a second."

I grab my spell book and look at the table of contents, then flip to the chapter on magic circuits, then skim through it until I find what I'm looking for, anything on mana transfer rituals. I then mutter as I read aloud what I find.

" _The concept of the mana transfer ritual was first hypothesized by Dr. Friedrick Hörmachen (1931-1983), a renowned surgeon and biomancer who was the apprentice of Dr. Bert Ülich (1876-1955), also a biomancer, who is known as the discoverer of magical circuits. Dr. Hörmachen hypothesized that because magical circuits and the propensity for magecraft is stored within DNA molecules, then if two individuals who have active magical circuits exchange fluids containing DNA, their mana would be replenished. Initial tests were a resounding success, discovering that the transfer of fluids actually creates a "bond" between the two individuals that lasts nearly indefinitely, allowing both parties to utilize the mana reserves of the other in order to cast spells and do other such things. Initial and successive tests found that bodily fluids containing high amounts of DNA, such as blood, semen, saliva, and even earwax would allow for a successful transfer. Later testing also showed that two individuals that have a rapport with each other have higher rates of success. That is: two individuals with a pre-existing close relationship (family, lovers, close friends) that conduct the fluid swap during moments of personal intimacy have much greater effects than a simple transfusion of fluids between strangers."_

So… what Mordred wants to do is exchange bodily fluids during a moment of intimacy. "You… want to have sex with me?"

"What!? No! I- I mean… I guess so, yeah… it's just, I don't know what to do, I've never done anything like this before."

Oh boy. I don't even know where to start with this. I mean yeah Mordred is cute, and it's not like we're related or anything like that to make this taboo, but I've never heard of a Master doing something like this with their Servant. I close my laptop and put it aside, as well as my book. Mordred is very special to me, I think of her almost like a daughter… almost… and we do already have a close bond as Master and Servant, so something like that could be effective, and useful, if it means that she is more combat effective, being able to get more mana from me.

"Haah… ok, well, if this works, it could be beneficial, so… fuck it. Come here."

She turns towards me, and starts crawling up the bed at me, and holy dear lord I don't think I've seen anything so sexy in the last couple years. Her wet hair and green eyes shine in the light of the sole lamp I have on in my room. Her face is red and her expression is embarrassed and scared but determined. Her wet shirt hangs down and I can see her small yet round breasts sway ever so slightly as she moves towards me, her nipples slightly erect from the cold water that she splashed on herself a minute ago. The lower part of her shirt slides up to the small of her back and I catch a glimpse of her ass, she's wearing the red thong that she hit me in the face with earlier.

As she makes it to me she straddles me and sits on my lap, I rest my hands on her hips as she places hers on my chest. I run my hands along her amazingly soft skin, and she hesitates a little, unsure of what to do. This side of her is absolutely adorable, she's no longer the brash, tough, masculine knight. Right now, in my hands she is merely a woman, and I've decided to make sure she never forgets what it's like to be a woman.

"M- Master, I… I'm not sure what…"

I smile, "It's ok, I'll take the lead, just enjoy the ride."

I lean forward and press my forehead against hers, my heart is hammering in my chest from anticipation, it's been quite a while since I've last had an experience like this. I can tell that Mordred is excited too, her breathing is quick and heavy, I can feel its warmth against my lips. I move my hands to cup her face and I kiss her.

"Mm!...mmm" Mordred's surprised reaction quickly gives way to interest as I begin moving my tongue around, our lips forming a suction and our tongues dancing and dueling in our mouths. After a moment I notice Mordred get more fierce, she starts pressing her whole body forward and sticking her tongue more and more into my mouth, then she starts sucking, and I realize that she's probably trying to get as much of my saliva into her as possible. She can probably taste the magical energy in it, and she wants it all.

After a couple more minutes I break the kiss. My head feels a little weird, different but not bad. "Master, haah, I want… haah, everything you can give me." Mordred says between heavy breaths, her voice as aggressive as it usually is, but also filled with hunger and lust. I wonder if the weird feeling in my head is some kind of overlap of what she's feeling right now, it could also be an effect of my mana being drained out of me and replaced by hers.

She goes in for another kiss, but I pull back "Ah, not too fast, I've got to get you ready."

"Ready… For what?"

I smile as I reach down and start pulling her shirt up and over her head, discarding it off to the side of my bed. I look at her body, it's small and slim, but slightly toned, not too much so as to possibly be masculine, but enough to show that she's fit and can pull a little weight. I trail my hands up from her waist to her tits, brushing her skin just enough to make her tremble slightly at my touch.

"Master…"

I hold her A cup breasts in my hands, they fit perfectly, and I begin massaging and fondling her boobs, shaking them and pinching her nipples just enough to make her gasp and moan, but not too much. After another couple minutes of this, I wrap my arms around the small of her back and pull her up into me, clamping down on her left tit with my mouth. She lets out a loud gasp as I do this, and as I start twirling my tongue around the bud of her nipple she wraps one arm around my neck for stability and starts running her fingers through my hair. "Mmm… hehehe, Master, you look like a baby right now."

"Ah eel ike one." I say, with my mouth still around her breast. I give her tit a hard suck and pull my head back, letting go with an audible pop sound, eliciting a satisfying "Ah!" from her. "That's not a bad thing either, it's the best feeling in the world." I continue, pecking her chest with kisses as I make my way to her other breast, doing to it what I did to her left until both of her tits are nice and puffy.

"Now comes the best part." I smirk as I roll us over so that she's lying on her back. Her head resting on my pillow. She is absolutely captivating, her hair draped everywhere on the pillow, her hands up beside her head, clutching slightly at my sheets, her beautiful eyes gazing at me with a little bit of fear but also trust and desire, love and lust. She doesn't know what's about to happen next, but she trusts me as her Master to care for her. Her chest rises and falls, her mouth slightly agape as she waits for me to make the next move.

I take this moment to remove my underwear, and when I discard my boxer briefs and toss them with her shirt, she looks down at my member, and her eyes go wide. Now this would normally be the part where I say that I have a 13 inch penis or some shit, but I'm a man, I'm honest, and I'm humble, it's an average 5.5-6 inches, not huge but not small either, and I can tell you from experience that if you're having sex with a virgin, size doesn't matter. (Pro tip: If you're reading a fan fiction and a narrator character has a dick in excess of 9 inches it's probably written by a horny 14 year old virgin who's got a micropenis.)

Anyways, after Mordred looks, a little comically, in awe at me, she says, "Uh… M- Master, what're ya gonna…"

Her question is answered when I pull her thong off, revealing fully her beautiful cameltoe. I explore her lips and entrance with my finger.

"Nnnn! Nng. Hhaaahh! Ah, Master."

After confirming that she's well lubricated, I position myself between her legs and take hold of my shaft. I look at her and tell her, "This'll hurt a bit at first but it'll feel better quickly." Mordred nods, looking back down and propping herself up a bit to give herself a better view.

I rub my dick along her slit, rewarded with some very lustful moans, "Oh, please don't tease me Master."

I find her entrance and slowly but forcefully bury myself in her. I feel her hymen tear and as I reach all the way in, Mordred twitches and grimaces in pain for a second, her hands flailing for a second to find my thighs and gripping them tightly, but thankfully not tightly enough to cause damage.

"Ghhk! Gnn, ghhaaah! Haah, aah."

I stay still for a second, letting her pain recede. "You good?"

"Yes Master, the pain is gone now."

"See? I knew you were a tough cookie."

We both chuckle as I start thrusting, moving slowly at first, enjoying Mordred's panting, but then she looks at me and smiles in a drunk-off-lust way, and I hear " _Harder."_ in my head.

I increase my force and speed, reveling in Mordred's feminine yet aggressive cries of ecstasy and calls of "Yes! Yes!" and other such things. I can feel her pleasure pouring out of her mind into mine, effectively doubling the euphoria that I am experiencing. Mordred wraps her legs and arms around me as I lean forward and kiss her while continuing my motions. I start seeing flashes of blue lines in my vision, this must be the actual transfer of mana, I start to literally feel some kind of current of heat and energy flowing out of me through my dick and into her, and then a similar energy flowing out of her and into me.

After a few minutes of this I'm nearly at my limit.

"Haah, Hahh, ahh," " _Master, Master, I- I feel, there's… I can't think, I feel like- I think I'm gonna… Ahh, Master!_ " "Master!" Mordred is quickly reaching her climax, blinking rapidly and looking through me at nothing, her tongue is almost hanging out of her mouth making an "ahegao" face, and I decide to up my game just a little more to heighten that pleasure that she's feeling, pushing myself to thrust into her as fast and hard as I physically can, reveling in the extremely erotic slapping sound I'm creating as our hips collide.

"Aaaaaaah! Master, master master MastAAAAAHHHH!"

She shrieks and bucks her hips violently, this motion causing me to climax along with her, my mind goes white for a good twenty seconds as we both cum and the feelings we're experiencing feed off each other to magnify the effect exponentially. I can feel my semen pumping into her along with a huge rush of mana as I lay on top of her, sweaty and panting, waiting for the high to go down.

Once I have enough energy I lift myself off of her and look at her. Her hair is even more disheveled than it normally is, and her eyes are rolled back, looking at the wall. "Master, that… that was… haaah."

I roll onto my back beside her and pull her onto me so that her head is resting on my chest. She grips my shoulder with one arm and I softly stroke her back. "I… I don't know if I'll be able to move for a bit. Hahaha." She says.

"That's ok, you can sleep with me tonight, I don't think anyone will mind."

"True, Father already did… Hey, did you and Father?..."

I chuckle, "No, we didn't."

"Oh ok… You should though, that was…"

We both start laughing. "Yeah, I guess being a girl isn't so bad after all, huh?" I joke.

Mordred laughs a lot more. "Yeah, it's not too bad… Master?"

"Yeah?"

" _...I love you. I'm sure Father does too, she's just too scared to say it."_

" _I love you too, Mordred. I have a good feeling that we're gonna win this War."_

I think that Mordred is already asleep by the time I finish that thought, and I quickly follow her.

…

I jolt awake as I hear pounding on my bedroom door. I hear Schellick call out from the other side, "Boss, you've got a call from USARPAC!"

I grunt as I sit up and hear Mordred groan and growl beside me as she rolls over and tries to sleep a bit more, but as I get up and get dressed, she decides her efforts are futile and does the same. I open the door to my room, wearing a T-shirt and shorts, and about 10 seconds later so does Mordred in her sleepwear, she walks to her room and changes into her usual clothes.

I stretch as I walk over to the kitchen table where Schellick set up the communications equipment. He's leaning against a wall waiting for me to take and then finish the call, and Minaki is sitting across from where I'm standing and a couple seats down, cleaning her sidearm. Arturia is sitting at the far end of the table eating breakfast, or maybe it's her second breakfast. I check my watch, 0936, damn, that's a little later than I would have liked to get up, but oh well. Mordred takes a seat next to me once she's changed and has come back out.

I depress the mute button on the console for the radio or whatever it is. Schellick said this contraption is like a mix between radio and a phone, very long range but on multiple encrypted channels with a specific frequency and a whole bunch of other technical jargon I barely understand. All I know is that it's designed for HQ use, so it's big and bulky and only has speakers on it, so whatever I hear, the whole room hears.

"USARPAC, this is Scepter-6, Captain Roberts speaking."

"Hello, Captain, this is General Brown."

...Oh shit, the four star general in charge of the entire Pacific Ocean is calling me? What the fuck did I do? "Oh... uh, hello sir, what can I do for you?"

"Captain, I'm the OIC for your operation over there in Japan, and could you please tell me what the _fuck_ you think you are doing?"

I've heard that tone of voice a few times before and even had to use it a couple times, extremely pissed off but trying very hard to control yourself.

"Uh… S-sir, I don't follow."

"Oh, well let me be a little more specific: What the _fuck_ do you think you are doing making a bunch of Army, Air Force, and Navy employees sit in an ops room and watch you have SEX with one of your team members!"

I'm not too sure if all the blood drained from my face or rushed to it, but I am pretty sure that time just stopped. I can feel everyone's eyes on me, Minaki with her pistol's barrel in one hand and a rag in the other, Arturia with her mouth still full of food, stopped mid-chew, Schellick with his eyes wide and surprised, still leaning with his arms crossed against the wall. Only Mordred doesn't look at me, she looks down like a scolded child, and I can see out of the corner of my eye that her face is about as red as her jacket, as I stare blankly at nothing in disbelief.

"Ah...Uh…. sir, it-"

"And don't even think about playing dumb because we have a recording of it that we may or may not give to JAG!"

What!? How? How in the hell could anyone see that? There were no cameras in the room except the one on my computer, which was closed when we did that, and my… exo suit… which has a camera on it… that is controlled by someone other than me… for battlefield recording purposes…

"B-but sir, it's not what you think! W-we-"

"I don't give a damn if it's what I think! Because it _looks_ like you were fucking one of your "heroic spirits" or whatever they're called! I don't know much about all the magical mumbo-jumbo that goes along with all this, but I _do_ know that that is the EXACT OPPOSITE of how you are supposed to conduct yourself on a mission! Your ass is lucky we can't just pull this mission because I would very much like to do it and then court martial you for all kinds of shit!"

"Sir, please just listen-!"

"I don't want to hear your fucking excuses, _Captain_! I also don't want to hear of anything like this happening again, with _any_ of your team members! This is a god damn military operation that's already cost the taxpayers millions, and you're treating it like it's a fucking vacation! Get your shit together and finish the mission in a timely manner, or I'm gonna say fuck it and scrap the whole thing, pull you back here, and dishonorably discharge all of you! Don't let this happen again! Be a fucking leader! Am I understood, Captain?"

"...Yes. Sir."

"Good."

I hear a click and the call goes dead. I can feel my shoulders shaking slightly, I'm not sure if it's from rage or shame. "Why… can't I just… be happy?" I mutter to myself.

A minute later I'm pinching my nose in frustration as Schellick paces around the room laughing his ass off. "Ahahahahaha! You… You fucked a ghost! Hahaha! You legit fucked a ghost and it was recorded! Hahahahaha! Oh.. oh my fucking God, oh man I'm crying! Hahahahaha! Oh and it wasn't just any ghost either! It was 'Sir Mordred! The Knight of Treachery! Destroyer of Camelot!' Ahahahaha! Oh man that's a fucking weird title, but I bet that shit is being uploaded… hehehe… to Pornhub as we fucking speak! Hahahahahaha!"

"Schellick, I'm about to pull rank on you and order you to shut the fuck up." I say. I'm waiting for Arturia to use her noble phantasm on me, but she's still sitting, looking at me with a confused face, while Mordred still looks down like she's done something wrong. "Master…" Arturia finally starts, "...why?"

I sigh, and then quickly explain to her everything I know about magical circuits and the mana transfer ritual, as well as info on Master/Servant contracts and bonds that she doesn't already know. When I finish, she says, "I see… Hmm, well I suppose something like that would be beneficial to our cause."

"Wait, you're not mad that I had sex with your, uh, son?" I decide to not call Mordred a daughter so she doesn't snap on me while she's feeling a little low like this, but that last part causes Schellick to renew his laughter, he's now doubled over and possibly about to pass out from laughing so much.

"Mmm, no, I do not believe so, it was a necessary act, and as your servants it is our duty to do whatever is necessary to gain any kind of advantage and win this war. If it means indulging in such acts, then so be it. But… also, master, I do know that you care for us, not just as servants, but as your companions as well. I'm not sure why, since our time here is so limited, but it is a good feeling to not be looked at as a tool, even though I originally told you that that is all I should have been to you."

I take a second to think, at least it's good to know that Arturia thinks logically and not emotionally like most women. "Hmm… Mordred?"

Mordred breaks her trance, "Huh? What?" She looks at me.

"Are you.. uh, ok?"

"Uh… Yeah, why wouldn't I be? In fact, I feel better than ever! I guess it worked, huh?"

"Uh yeah, but do you feel, well, ashamed or embarrassed?"

"Nah, not really, I mean yeah it sucks that that general guy chewed your ass for it, but like you said Master, it was necessary and helpful, and, heh, it was fun." She says this last part with a grin. I hear Schellick, who had moved to the kitchen during this exchange, call from inside, "Playaaa!"

"Shut the fuck up Schellick!" I yell at him.

Huh, ok then, it's good to know that the superhuman spirits that I need to control aren't mad or rebellious because of this. I turn to look at Minaki who has finished cleaning her sidearm and is in the process of re-assembling it. "What do you think Minaki?"

She glances at me, then goes back to what she was doing and shrugs as Schellick comes back into the room with some Japanese soda. "Eh, it doesn't really matter to me, what you do with your servants on your free time is your business," she smiles a little, "and besides we already did a mana transfer so don't ask me to get in bed with you too."

Schellick almost chokes on his drink, "Wait wait wait, what?" He gets this big grin on his face. Minaki looks at him.

"It wasn't a full ritual like he did with Mordred, it was just a minor one to give him some extra juice so he could handle two servants, all I did was put my hand on his shoulder and say some magic words, don't be going making this weird."

Schellick shrugs and goes to sit on the sofa and watch tv, "Ah, that's a little disappointing but it's ok, my sides need a break anyway."

I shake my head as I go grab my computer from my room, taking a moment to flip off my exo suit, and set up my laptop to search street cameras in the city to try and find a servant or master.


	10. Chapter 10

**Attention, all Reader units, this is Author-6. Lemon reinforcements were just seen headed in your direction, same rules as before, out.**

Two more days go by with little activity, during the ninth day at our house we spend most of our time sparring in the backyard. Late that night, I awoke and was unable to sleep, so I decided to try and relieve some stress by taking a nice relaxing bath. The bathroom is between the kitchen and my room, it's two rooms, the first contains a toilet and sink, and beyond that is a room with a shower and a bathtub. The bath is fairly small, only one adult or maybe two kids could fit in it comfortably. I'm sitting in the tub, my legs spread out in front of me, my arms and head resting on the rim of the tub, feeling the warmth of the steam that's filling the room. I close my eyes and start thinking while I doze off. I feel kinda bad for what I did with Mordred, even though there's really nothing wrong with what we did, we're both adults (technically) and there's no taboo relationship that we have, it's just that those who aren't mages don't understand why I did it. I don't regret what I did, I know that it'll help us in the long run. If I could do it with Arturia then it would maximize our capabilities in battle, and strengthen our bond. The only problem is that I highly doubt that she would let me-.

I snap back to reality as I hear a splash in the tub, I didn't hear anyone come in so I think that maybe something fell into the tub, but as I snap my head up to see what's going on, I'm met with Arturia, sitting in the tub naked, between my legs, her legs folded under her and her arms positioned to cover her breasts while her hands cover her crotch. Her body is similar to Mordred's, or I guess Mordred's is similar to hers, she's small and slender but toned and feminine, her breasts aren't very large but they're round and noticeable. She's glaring at me intently, almost angrily, and her whole face and neck is red, way more red than it should be since she just got in here.

I'm very tempted to jump up as I see her, and I almost do, but I stop myself before I expose too much of myself to her. "What're you doing!?" I ask quickly, bewildered and unsure whether or not I'm awake right now.

"Master, I've decided that we should perform a mana transfer ritual."

I blink a couple times, "Huh?"

"I… see how much it has helped Mordred, and with all the benefits that it brings to us, I believe that we should just get it over with."

I chuckle incredulously, "It's not that bad, you know, you make it sound like we're doing something horrible, am I that unattractive?"

"N- No, Master, I would not call you ugly, it's just that a king shouldn't lower himself to such things, it is unbecoming of me to make myself appear as some whore."

"But you're not, a whore has sex for money, you and I are doing this to help us win this war."

"I know that, it's just…" she grunts in frustration, "whatever, let's just do this and be done with it!"

She moves forward and mounts me, placing her hands on my shoulders as she positions herself over my dick. I cup her face in my hands and say softly, "Hey, Hey, slow down a bit, just because this is something you feel like you have to do doesn't mean it's bad, and it doesn't mean you can't enjoy it, just take it slow and have fun while you can."

She looks at me and her expression relaxes just a bit, and she nods slightly, lowering herself down onto me, using one hand to guide me into her. Her breath catches as my tip spreads her entrance and she forces herself down, I'm inside her all the way down to my base and her hymen tears. She cries out in pain and clutches at me, closing her eyes and biting her lip while she waits for the pain to go away. She's extremely tight, almost like she's squeezing me, and I can feel her insides twitching ever so slightly as she starts moving up, then back down, lifting herself up until I'm about to slip outside of her, then slamming herself back down, creating a splash and a nice meaty smack when she goes down. She rides me for several minutes, gradually increasing her tempo.

I feel a similar feeling to when I was with Mordred, like my mana is being drained and replaced with hers. Arturia has a focused, intense look on her face as she stares at me, our faces an inch apart, creating clouds of fog with our breath in the steamy bathroom, her breathing becomes heavy with lust, her eyes showing the same emotion as she loses her mind in the act we are performing right now. I decide that we need to change our pace.

Without warning I bring my arms under her legs and link them around the small of her back, and still inside her, I lean forward and stand up, turning to press her against the wall behind me. She yelps as I stand up and wraps her arms around my neck, and her legs around my back. She gasps as the cold wall hits her back, and I move my hands down to grab her small but plump ass to support her while I start thrusting into her. She's basically in the air, only supported by the wall and my arms as I shove my dick as far into her as it'll go. She looks at me, her eyes widened in surprise from my movement and our new position. " _Master… this position… it's so… so lewd…"_ I quickly begin panting and grunting from the effort, but luckily she's extremely light so I can keep this up for a while. She squeezes me with her legs and her breathing turns to panting, she exhales every time I thrust into her like the air is being forced out of her, she starts moaning, "Haah, haah, haah, aaah, aaah, Ma-... Ma-... stah… haah."

I press my forehead against hers and stare into her amazing green eyes for a moment before I plant my lips on hers, eliciting a very erotic "mmmph!" from her when I do, letting her drink my saliva as she clutches my hair with one hand.

After a few minutes we start reaching climax, Arturia becomes tighter around my member and I feel myself getting ready to burst. " _I feel, something… Master! I… it's weird, but… I, I like it…"_ Arturia is trying to be quiet, so as she cums she bites her lip, only eliciting a quiet but extremely cute squeal, but her lack of a verbal reaction causes her physical reaction to be amplified, and she squeezes my dick, trembling and shaking in my arms as her juices flow over my dick, this causes me to reach my climax as well, and I start pumping everything I have into her, some my sperm mixing with her juices, dripping down into the water I'm standing in. I once again see flashes of blue and white, and feel absolutely drained, so I sit back down and hold Arturia as we both come down from our high.

"Haah… Master… how many times do we have to do that?"

"Well we only need to do it once… hah… but I guess we can do it more if you want."

"I shall consider it." We giggle as she rests her head on my shoulder. "I had thought that doing that would be less enjoyable, but I was mistaken."

I laugh, "I told you, it's not a bad thing, and it's fun."

She rests her head on my shoulder and leans her body on mine, and we relax in the hot bath water for a few more minutes before we return to bed, Arturia choosing to sleep with me. The next morning, I wake up in the best way possible, with Arturia's peaceful smile being the first thing my eyes see when I open them.

 **Author's note: This is, obviously, a work in progress, and I am currently working on future chapters and will publish them as soon as possible, but because of my current job it can be difficult to take the time to sit down and write. I would like to thank everyone for their patience as you go on this journey with me.**


	11. Chapter 11

Arturia and I get out of bed and put our clothes on, it's… Ah shit, about 1045, way too late for me to be getting up. We exit the room and everyone else is already out watching tv. Schellick looks at us and grins when he sees Arturita's embarrassed but content look, "Have a good bath last night, boss?"

"Shut up." I say with a grin that doesn't do well in getting rid of my slightly reddening face.

Mordred looks at both of us, "Wait… you two-?"

"Moving on!" I say loudly, trying to change the subject.

"So you two did do the ritual! How was it?" Mordred asks.

"It was very nice, Master showed a surprising amount of endurance when he picked me up and-" Arturia starts.

"Arturia, we don't need to go into detail about-" I stop her.

Mordred chuckles, "I know what you mean, Father, Master's actually pretty good at that, I really liked the part when he sucked on my t-"

"Can we please just stop talking about this!?" I yell, Schellick and Minaki are laughing their asses off, after they've recovered I ask Schellick, "Anything going on right now?" Immediately after I ask this, I hear a high pitched beeping noise that lasts for about a second. Everyone else except for Schellick jolts a little and looks at each other. It takes me a moment to realize that that's the sound of the magical alarm I set when we first got here.

"Not right now, we're just hanging out and-" Schellick starts, not noticing us, but is interrupted by the sound of a doorbell. We all look towards the door. I go to the front door, Arturia a few feet behind me, and open it. Standing on the other side is Astolfo, wearing a purple zip up hoodie with fluffy draw strings and black sleeve cuffs on top of a horizontally striped purple/pink and white crop top and a necklace with a silver cross-like image made from three arrows on it, along with a short frilly black skirt with black stockings and purple sneakers, and a light blue aesthetic belt hanging loosely on her hips. I've also just noticed that she has a white streak in her hair, and one tooth hangs down a little lower than the rest, making a fang. She looks incredibly cute, and has the personality to match. She's standing leaning forward with her hands behind her and one foot crossed over the other when I open the door.

She gives a wave as she smiles and says "Hi, Master of Saber! Hi, King of Knights! I have a message from the King of Conquerors for you!"

"Uh… How did you find us?" I ask, bewildered.

"Hmm? Oh, it was kinda simple really, I just walked around the city until I felt the presence of a Servant and I followed it. You aren't the only one that this message is for. Anyways! Iskandar would like you and the other kingly heroic spirits to join him in the courtyard of the Einzbern's castle tonight to have a civil discussion about the Holy Grail!" She delivers this message with the same gusto that she's done everything else I've seen her do.

I turn to look at Arturia, she nods and says, "We shall accept the offer, thank you."

"Yay!" She hops in the air a bit, "Thank you! You'll make him so happy, see you there!" She waves back at us as she takes off back down the walkway to the road. I close the door and report back to everyone else what just happened.

…

During the day, while preparing to go meet Iskandar, we decide that everyone is gonna go, but Minaki and Schellick will stay in the car on standby in case shit goes down, and I along with my Servants will go to the castle itself and speak with Iskandar and the other Servants that decide to show up. I start once again poring over my video of our previous fight, working with Arturia and Mordred to figure out the other Servants' abilities and Noble Phantasms. I scratch my head in frustration as, around 1400, I'm watching footage of the Archers, we've figured out that the golden Archer pulls his weapons from small portals linked to some large room somewhere, he has absolute control over what he pulls from the portals though, from the looks of it.

We've brainstormed a few different possibilities as to his identity: he was a king of very high standing, he most likely owned a large empire and was very wealthy, and he sees himself as above all other people, including other kings, which leaves people like King Darius III: the last ruler of ancient Persia who attacked Greece and after several battles became a bitter rival of Alexander the Great, he was known to be extremely wealthy. Or he could be one of the pharaohs of Egypt, like Narmer, one of the first pharaohs, or Senusret I: a pharaoh whose rule was during peacetime, which would explain how wealthy he is and why he has so many weapons stored away. He could also be King Gilgamesh, the world's first king of Sumaria, and the protagonist in history's first fictional story: The Epic of Gilgamesh. Being the ruler of the entire known world would definitely grant you a good deal of wealth, at least a good amount for that time.

On top of that, we've been trying to figure out the red Archer's identity as well, he looks more modern than most other Servants, so I don't know what time period he could be from, and his weapons don't resemble any known famous historical weapons. It's almost like this guy never existed until he became a Servant. I've been watching the footage of myself fighting him a few times, trying to figure out how he makes them appear in his hand, the only thing I have to go on is that at one point I enhanced the audio and heard him mutter "Trace: On" when his weapons appeared. I grunt in frustration.

"Having problems, Master?" Mordred says while she stretches her arms.

"Yeah, I'm still trying to figure out how the red Archer guy keeps bringing his weapons back, it's obviously some form of magic, but he doesn't just summon them, it's like he's just copied a template and replicated it, his weapons aren't of amazing quality, so I doubt that they're his primary Noble Phantasms, they're just like replicas or some kind of fancy projec-" I pause. "Oh. Oh, wait! Maybe…"

I pull out my spellbook and flip through the pages until I find what I'm looking for. "Hmm… summoning magic… no, that's more complex than what he does… Projection magic: creating a replica… no that can't be it either, it says here the weapons and items made are shitty, and his are sturdier than what it says they should be… dammit." I mumble while I read.

"Still no luck, Master?" Arturia asks.

"No, it doesn't make sense, the only thing I can think of is that the red Archer guy uses projection magic to summon his swords, which explains how I am able to destroy them with my regular combat blades." Granted, my exo-suit's blades are made out of a diamond-tipped tungsten carbide and titanium alloy, making them some of the strongest blades mankind has ever made outside of some Noble Phantasms, "The problem is that I don't know how he does it, his weapons are still of relatively high quality for projections, so it's some form of magecraft that is either unique to him, or it's undiscovered right now, meaning that he's from the future, and I thought that Servants could only really be from the past. Everything about this guy is so mysterious and weird, it's infuriating!"

"Then perhaps it is best to wait and try to discover more through more interaction with him." Arturia suggests.

I growl a little, "I don't like that, fighting an enemy you don't know anything about is a really stupid idea. But I guess it's all we can do." Maybe I can talk with him if he shows up to this little talk tonight.

…

We walk through the old Einzbern's castle, it's only myself and my Servants. I left Minaki and Schellick in the car parked off the road near the main entrance to the castle, and I left my M4 and helmet as well. I'm not wearing my combat top or armor, just my pants and boots, a black t-shirt, my glasses, and my exo suit, trying to convey a message that I'm not looking for a fight but prepared if one breaks out, though since we're going to be talking with the more honorable Servants, I doubt it'll happen. The castle itself is built in a square and surrounds a large courtyard, and I push open a large door that leads to said courtyard. There is a stone path going around the perimeter, and down the middles, making a cross, and in the middle is a fairly large space that is circular in shape. In all the areas that aren't made into a path, there are white roses that are still thriving even though there's no one around to tend to them for a little while.

Sitting in the middle of the courtyard, next to a large barrel, is Iskandar, wearing some jeans and a white t-shirt with a map of the world on it and some japanese words that I can't quite make out from here. I gesture, a little comically, for Arturia to go ahead of me, saying, "After you, my lord." She smiles at me and walks into the courtyard, flanked by Mordred and myself. Both my Servants have their armor on and Mordred has her helmet up as usual. Behind Iskandar stands Waver, near the entrance to one of the lanes that goes to the perimeter, and Astolfo is prancing around in the flowers, looking for the best ones to pick, she also has her casual clothes on.

"Yo, Saber!" Iskandar calls as he sees us, raising a hand in greeting, "It is good that you could make it. But… Battle armor? Did you decide to forgo your modern attire this evening?"

"Our modern attire is far too informal for such an audience, and a king should always show authority and power, would you not agree, King of Conquerors?" Arturia says as she walks up and takes a seat a few feet from Iskandar, her legs folded under her, and her back erect as it usually is, she is as elegant as usual, probably more so now than most other times, since she now has to prove herself to this other king.

"Hmm… True, true, but tonight is less of a Holy Grail War, and more of a Holy Grail discussion. It is said that the Holy Grail will ultimately be claimed by the one that is most worth of possessing it. I believe that bloodshed should be unnecessary if we Heroic Spirits can all mutually agree on who is the strongest, the issue will resolve itself." Iskandar smashes the top of the barrel, and dips a large ladle into it, taking a drink from whatever's inside, probably some kind of wine. He then dips the ladle in the barrel once more and extends it to Arturia. She takes it and downs the contents almost as if she's taking a shot. She turns the ladle upside down as she hands it back to Iskandar, causing him to raise an eyebrow in surprise. They continue their discussion about who is more worthy of the Grail while I and Mordred move to one side, in a different lane than the one where the door is. Almost immediately after we do this, the Lancers walk through the door and join the party, Lancer Arturia taking a seat between my Arturia and Iskandar, she is not wearing her helmet, instead she has on an elaborate crown.

She also doesn't have her armor on, and is wearing a red cape, and a blue gown similar to my Arturia's dress, it has a, for lack of a better term, boob window in it that shows her breasts, and ho boy does she need it, to say that she's busty would be like saying that Stephen Hawking was kinda smart. I mean she has to have at least DDD cup boobs. This causes me to say, "Oh… My God." When I see her.

"What? What's going on boss?" Schellick asks.

"Schellick, let me just say it's a good thing you're not here."

"What? Why?"

"If I told you right now you'd leave your post, I'll tell you later."

Diarmuid stands at the entrance to the circle like I, Mordred, and Waver are. The Lancers are greeted by Iskandar when they arrive, and the two Arturias nod to each other. Iskandar brings Lancer Arturia up to speed on what they were just discussing, and finishes with, "...And so, we must wonder, which of us is the vessel most worthy of the Grail? The answer lies at the bottom of this barrel."

From the lane that no one is currently occupying, a mass of golden light appears and the golden Archer forms, walking towards the group in the middle, "That's enough comedy for one night, mongrels." He says as he appears. Both the Arturias tense up as they see him.

"You're late, Shiny!" Iskandar says as Archer takes a seat with the group, causing me to chuckle a little. "Though I shouldn't be surprised, since you travel on foot, unlike the rest of us."

"Surely you don't mean to hold a feast of kings in this depressing courtyard? How do you intend to make amends for dragging me out here?" Archer says with the same amount of arrogance as I saw during our last confrontation.

"Let's not be impolite, here, have a drink." Iskandar extends the ladle to Archer.

After a pause, Archer takes the ladle and has barely a sip of the drink inside before he scoffs, "What is this swill? You honestly believe this is sufficient to measure a Heroic Spirit's quality? You are ignorant of what true wine should be, mongrel." He holds his hand up and summons one of his golden circles, then tips it upside down, and from within it comes a golden pitcher, and four golden goblets. "Behold, and be amazed. This is the drink of a king." He gives the goblets to Iskandar, who pours wine into all of them, and hands them out to the other kings.

All except for Archer drink, Iskandar exclaiming, "Fantastic!" and the Arturias have looks of surprise on their face, the wine must be absolutely amazing. "Be it wine or swords, only the best is held in my treasury. I believe this alone should settle the matter of who is the true king."

Ooh, them's fighting words right there, "You two hearing all this?" I mutter.

"Lima Charlie (loud and clear) boss!" I hear Schellick say in my earpiece.

"Your wine is exquisite and deserves only the finest of cups, however, the Holy Grail is no mere wine goblet. Our discussion on it cannot progress further until we learn your reason for seeking it." Iskandar says.

"You do not command me, mongrel. First, given that we each strive for the Grail already, our reasons are meaningless. But that is beside the point, the Grail is mine, all treasures on this earth can be traced to my collection." My Arturia is looking at Archer out of the corner of her eye, a look of annoyance on her face.

"So you've held the Grail? Would you know it by appearance alone?" Iskandar asks him.

"No, my criteria for possession are entirely different from you mongrels. The vastness of my storehouse overtook my personal knowledge of its inventory long ago. The mere fact that a treasure exists is enough to show that it is mine. For another to claim it, that would be thievery of the highest order."

"You words make as much sense as Caster's. Apparently, he is not the only one suffering from delusions." my Arturia says, eliciting a chuckle from Lancer Arturia, and a slightly bemused glare from Archer.

"What a fucking arrogant bitch. 'Eh, just 'cause it exists means it's mine!' Dick." I mutter. My comment causes Mordred to laugh beside me. I really don't like this guy, he's the most narcissistic POS I've ever seen. I think I know who he is now, it only really makes sense that he's Gilgamesh, based on the stories and history surrounding him, a man that has everything and anything he could ever want. I'll have to wait and see if I'm correct.

The Servants continue their discussion about the Grail and why they want it and other such things. I look around, Diarmuid has sat down cross-legged with his spears in his lap, and I look up on the roofs, there's no sign of other Servants, not even the other Archer. I decide to sit down as well, I tell Mordred she can sit if she wants to, but she says that she's good, and I move a little so I'm sitting leaning against a rose bush just inside the circle. I pull out my phone and start looking up any info I can find on the Servants that we don't already know from the research we've already done.

After a minute I look up and see Waver looking at me, so I beckon him over to me. He reluctantly comes over and sits beside me. "Howdy, how you doin'?" I say.

"U-uh, good, I- I think." He responds shakily.

I'm half listening to the conversation the Servants are having and keeping my tone low so I don't interrupt them. I watch them as I talk with Rider's Master. "You know, you don't have to be scared of me, I'm not gonna do anything to you unless you directly attack me or my Servants."

"But… Aren't you my enemy?"

"Kinda, the way I look at it, we summon the Servants and they duke it out to see who's better, we're just supposed to support them in any way we can. We're like… Like generals in a war, and they're the soldiers, we aren't supposed to take direct action against anyone, just sit back and watch as they kill each other."

"But you were up with your Servants at the shipping yard."

"Yeah, that was a personal choice of mine, because I don't like the thought of someone fighting for me if I can fight myself."

"Master, the red Archer is standing just a few feet behind us." Mordred informs me.

"Roger."

"Huh… I wish I could do that." He looks sullenly at the ground.

"Ah, don't beat yourself up, I'm an idiot for what I do, no human, no matter what enhancements they have, can match a Servant, it's a miracle that I'm even alive right now. Ain't that right, Archer?" I turn my head to look behind me, and the red Archer materializes standing about ten feet away from me. His arms are folded against his chest and he looks down, eyes closed, as he chuckles.

"Hmph, of course, Saber's Master." His voice is deep, which matches his tall, masculine physique, and he definitely has a Japanese accent. He looks at me and holds out one hand in an explanative kind of way, "I could have killed you a dozen times or more during our little spat, but I decided not to." He has a slight, cocky grin on his face.

"Ah, that hurts, why didn't you?" I ask.

His smile drops for a moment and he doesn't respond immediately, like he's thinking of how to respond. "I decided that it wouldn't be fair to Saber to… 'defeat' her before we actually had a chance to fight."

He makes it sound like there's more to the story than that, but I decide not to press it further. "Anyways, Waver, you've got more guts than you think. You may not be strong, but you've got guts. The other Masters, Lancer's, Archer's, Berserker's, Assassin's, Caster's, they're all cowards, I don't even know what they look like. But you, you stay with your Servants when they go into battle, that's pretty commendable… You heard anything on the other Masters?"

"Ah, not… not r-really, but… I did find what might be Caster's hideout."

"Really?"

"Y-Yeah, we think they may be in the sewers under the city. We were going to go check it out tomorrow."

"Hmm… Alright, thanks for the info, we'll check it out too, I'd recommend you let me handle this, we can be more…" I look at Iskandar and Astolfo, "Discreet than you."

"Oh. Well, okay then." It was a lot easier to get information out of him than I thought it would be.

Astolfo comes up and sits down next to us, a makeshift bouquet of roses in her hand. She hands them to Waver, "Here ya go Master! It's a thank you gift for being the best Master ever!"

Waver's face gets extremely red as he thanks Astolfo. Mordred has moved closer to us, she's standing with her arms crossed, helmet still on, watching her Father discuss the Grail with the other kings, only about three feet away from me. I look at her, "Why don't you ever do things like that for me?" I jokingly ask her.

She turns her head to me, "We already did a mana transfer, I don't know what more you want from me, Master." I chuckle and say, "True."

I hear Archer behind me mutter, "Ho? So he did too…" I turn my head and I'm about to ask him what the hell he means by that, but my attention has to turn to Waver.

Waver looks at me in shock, "Wait… You two… did the…"

"Yep. What, you didn't at least think about doing it with Astolfo?" I look at Astolfo, she's not exactly my ideal woman but she is pretty cute and I wouldn't mind giving her a little extra juice.

Astolfo laughs as Waver's face turns even more red, "Um… N-No, I uh… I haven't really thought about it."

"You gay or something?" I don't really care if he is or not, I'm just messing with him at this point, and wondering what his reasoning for not doing the ritual is, since he obviously knows what the ritual entails.

"No! N-No I'm not, um, and t- that's why I wouldn't want to do the ritual…" His voice trails off.

I'm confused for a second, that doesn't make sense, if he's straight, why would he have a problem with-... I blink a few times. "Uh… Astolfo… Are you… a guy?"

"Yeah, you couldn't tell before?" She- no wait, he says simply.

My whole world comes crashing down around me. What the fuck? I bury my face in my hands. I'm fighting a goddamn trap! Am I gay? I mean I'm in love with a woman that up until about a month ago I thought was a man, and now there's this person that I see and think "Oh, she's cute." and then it's like, "That's a guy." God fucking damn it! I'm so confused now. I ask Astolfo, "Why, like, just… Why?" I wave my hand and motion to his clothes and hair.

"Hmm? Oh this stuff? I just thought it looked nice."

"Uh… O...kay."

I'm spared from further awkward conversation when my Arturia stands up and glares at Iskandar and Archer. "What right have you to mock me!?" She says, "A king should be prepared to sacrifice if it ensures her kingdom's prosperity!"

"You're wrong." Iskandar says quietly, the Arturias look at him, "A king does not sacrifice anything, his subjects and his country offer themselves for him."

"What? That is the reign of a tyrant!" my Arturia retorts.

"Yes, it is. We are tyrants, and so we are heroes. If a king regrets his reign or its ending, he is simply a fool, a worse ruler than a tyrant!"

"Iskandar," Lancer Arturia speaks up, her tone and expression are much more collected than my Arturia's, "When your reign ended, your heirs were murdered, your kingdom split into three parts. Do you have no regrets about the fate of your empire?"

"None. If it came to pass by my subjects' sacrifices or my decree, then the collapse was inevitable. I shall mourn the loss, I will shed tears for the fallen. But I shall never regret! And never shall I wish to undo it! To foolishly meddle with the result of my conquests would be an insult to every person who lived in my time!" Iskandar starts raising his voice.

"Only a warrior sees honor in destruction!" my Arturia says, "What good is a king who ignores the plight of the weak? A just rule, under just laws. That is a king's desire." She starts using her hands as she speaks, trying to emphasize her words.

"So… as a king, you are slave to this justice?" Iskandar muses.

"That is acceptable, a king will sacrifice herself for her beliefs." Arturia responds.

Iskandar sighs and takes a drink from his cup. "Then you cannot even live your own life. To rule a country is to give up living for oneself."

"King of Conquerors," Lancer Arturia starts, it's a little eerie how similar their voices are, if I wasn't looking I wouldn't be able to tell which Arturia is speaking, "You seek the Grail in order to become reincarnated, to continue your reign, yet you cannot even realize that to hold a throne is to help those below you, not to satisfy your own greed."

"A king without greed is unfit to even decorate his throne!" Iskandar almost explodes, "Saber, you said a king will sacrifice himself for his beliefs. In life, you were surely a saintly and immaculate person, one of noble bearing, beyond reproach. But who can admire a martyr's thorny path? Who dreams of such a life?" I look at the Arturias' expressions, they look… uncertain, which makes sense, their whole worldview is being questioned and arguments are being made to the contrary of what they've believed their whole lives. Iskandar continues, "A king… must lust more, laugh louder, and rage longer than any other. Every aspect, both good and evil, should be beyond the extremes of any normal person. A king must be thus, in order to inspire admiration and envy from his followers. He must ignite a flame within their hearts so that they wish to be like their king as well! King of Chivalry… perhaps your justice and ideals once saved your kingdom, but what became of the subjects you saved?"

There is a pause, and both Arturias' eyes slowly widen, as if recalling some horrible memory. Iskandar keeps talking, "You saved your people, but you did not lead them. You never showed them how a king should act. They lost their way and you left them to it. You were content to walk alone and composed, preferring your own pretty little dreams."

I notice that Mordred has lowered her hands and has balled them into fists, shaking ever so slightly. Oh yeah, I forgot that she hates it if someone talks bad about King Arthur. There is a long pause, both of the Arturias are too stunned to reply. "Let me at him, Master." Mordred says to me, I can hear her armor clinking slightly from how much she's shaking, and I can hear the anger in her voice.

"No, not yet, there's too many enemies." I say quietly.

"I can take 'em."

"You are not a genuine king." Iskandar says, Mordred takes a single step forward and I reach up and grab her arm. "You are someone trapped by an ideal of a king who exists for others, not for himself. You are just a naïve little girl."

"HOW DARE YOU!" Mordred continues to walk forward, I attempt to hold her back by holding her arm and shouting her name repeatedly, but she keeps on, dragging me with her.

"Mordred, this does not concern you…" my Arturia says quietly, barely looking at her, lost in thought.

"The hell it doesn't! None of you," She looks around at the congregation of kings, "None of you have the right to insult my Father in such a way! It doesn't matter how shitty of a king she may have been, it doesn't matter how amazing you might have been, you will not insult her again!"

"Oh, so you are Sir Mordred." Archer says to her with a smirk on his face.

"Yeah, what's it to you?" Mordred retorts.

Archer's smile fades, replaced with a glare. "I don't remember giving you permission to address me in such a manner, you bastard cur."

"Right back atcha ya golden earring wearing bitch!" Mordred materializes her sword.

Archer's eyes flare, "How dare-"

Everyone jumps and stops as I let off three shots from my .45 into the air, creating a loud echoing bang. "How about we all just simmer the fuck down and keep having a nice conversation." I say as I re-holster my weapon.

Iskandar gives a hearty laugh, "Ahahaha! Sound advice, Master of Saber, what need do we have of swords when words can cut just as deep?" He looks over to Waver, who is now shaking slightly, "You see, boy? That is how you take charge of a situation!" He turns back to the group and muses, "Ah, but Sir Mordred's outburst gave me an idea, perhaps it would be good to gather more opinions on this heated topic, seeing as how we are all Servants." Astolfo gets up and pulls Waver over closer to the circle of Servants. "What say you, Archer, Lancer?" He gestures towards the red Archer and Diarmuid. Archer heaves a sigh and walks closer to the circle, a bored and irritated expression on his face.

Diarmuid remains seated where he is, he bows his head. "Forgive me, but as a knight I do not feel that it is my place to voice-"

Iskandar cuts him off with another wave of laughter, "Oh come now Lancer, there's no need to be so formal now, as I said, we are all Servants, tonight none of us should be any higher in stature than the others!"

Diarmuid thinks on this for a moment, then stands up and walks over to sit next to Lancer Arturia, and the Golden Archer, whom at this point I've all but confirmed that he is Gilgamesh and will refer to him as such from now on, looks sideways at Iskandar and says, "Be careful with your words, Rider, not everyone may agree with what comes out of your mouth."

Iskandar closes one eye and looks at Gilgamesh with a smile, "Ah, but isn't that the point of this, Shiny?"

"I had thought that the purpose of this was to see which of us is best suited for the Grail, or has that changed, mongrel?"

"Yes, and what better start than a level playing field? Or what? Do you think yourself above all the rest of us, Archer?"

"Of course he does, haven't you been paying attention?" I say.

Gilgamesh looks at me, then says, "As much as I abhor this dog's presence, he is correct. I am this world's first king, and as such all who come after me are my subjects, and all land, all possessions are thereby mine, even you all, who call yourselves kings, with your own special weapons, belong to me."

During his little speech, I hear a sigh behind me, and the other Archer says, "There he goes again." Causing those close enough to hear him to chuckle.

"I believe that is what Saber was talking about," Diarmuid speaks up, "Rider, Archer, a healthy amount of greed and ambition is good for a king, but too much can lead to ruin. My king was a good man who strived to help his people, but he gave in to… temptation, too often, and that was ultimately his demise."

Lancer Arturia, who had been silently listening until now, speaks up. "That's it. That is the basis of our disagreement. My companion and…" She looks at my Arturia for a second, "Myself argue that a king needs to be a good, selfless person in order to be a good king. Rider and Archer, you argue that a king needs to transcend his humanity to be able to govern well, and I agree with that."

"What!?" Mordred yells, "Father, you can't really think-"

Lancer Arturia holds up a hand, signaling Mordred to stop. "Sir Mordred, it is unbecoming of a knight to interrupt their king, no matter their relation. What I was going to say is: While I do agree that a king should be above their subjects and even above their own mortality, I cannot agree that they should only seek to satisfy their own goals and desires. A king's first priority should be the success of the nation that they rule, and by extension the people living within their nation. So, a king should be able to go above and beyond what is thought possible by his subjects, and that king should always strive to fulfill his dreams, but that king's dream should be the well-being and happiness of his people. If the people are happy, the kingdom will prosper, that is the basis for just rule."

"'Tis the way of a coward to do what is easy in taking the middle road between two extremes." Iskandar mumbles into his cup.

"Well what's wrong with doing what makes the most amount of people happy? I mean Charlemagne only gave me one order: go around and help anyone you can. How's that bad?" Astolfo says, sitting next to Waver with her… his legs tucked up to his chest, hugging them.

"It is bad because a king should not concern himself with every little peasant that happens to inhabit his lands. He should worry about expanding his kingdom and defeating his enemies." Gilgamesh says.

"True, a king without enemies cannot expand his kingdom, and a king who is loved by all has no enemies. Wouldn't you agree, Master?" Lancer Arturia says.

I've been looking down for a while, sitting between my Arturia and Mordred, and when Lancer Arturia says "Master" I look up, wondering where Kayneth is, only to be met with Lancer Arturia's piercing stare. "Uh… Me?" I ask.

"Yes. You are technically my Master, are you not?" She smiles slightly.

I look around, everyone else is now looking at me. I sigh and say, "Well yeah, you are right, Arturia. But…" I stand up and start pacing around the middle of the group, a little ecstatic that I'm in the presence of so many powerful people and I get a chance to speak my mind, "I think you all are forgetting something very important when it comes to who is a better king or who is a better person." I look at Gilgamesh, "What are you right now?" I ask him.

He looks away from me, "I will not lower myself to humoring your pointless questions, cur." He says with his arms folded.

"Understandable," I turn to Iskandar, "What are you?"

"I am a king!" He says heartily.

"Wrong." He looks at me angrily, I hold up my hands and say "Hear me out, not done yet." I turn to Diarmuid, "What are you?"

He thinks for a moment. "A Servant."

"Close, but not quite." I look at Astolfo, "What are you? What are all of you?"

He looks puzzled for a second then hesitantly says, "Heroic… Spirits?"

"And what are Heroic Spirits?" I look around and hold my hands up, inviting anyone to answer.

After a few seconds, Mordred says, "...Dead?"

"Yes! You are all… Dead!" I yell, "You have lived your lives which were filled with adventure and danger and power and you did something with that life you were given. But all that is over with, you can't change what happened or what you did in life. But what you did doesn't matter, what you had doesn't matter." I point at Iskandar, "You led an army to conquer Greece, Asia, and the Middle East. People followed you because they liked your military genius and they wanted a part of your spoils."

I point at Gilgamesh, "You were the king of the entire known world, and you were wealthy beyond measure. But that is why you will be forgotten. Neither of you believed in anything. That's how you get remembered: leave an impression based on your ideals." I gesture to my Arturia, "She left something behind. She left ideas of honor and bravery, courage and national pride, chivalry and grace. You two will be taught about in a college history lecture and forgotten a week later by 99% of people who hear about you. But this beautiful woman right here," Arturia's face goes red and she mumbles something, "has left a legacy that survives 1500 years after her reign. She has inspired millions, including myself, to live a good life and be a good person. So what if her kingdom fell? So did yours, so do all kingdoms. I'd still follow her into Hell before I follow you into paradise, because I know that she actually gives a shit about me! I believe in her because she believes in something bigger than herself, and I can guaran-fucking-tee you that if you asked any of the men that fought with her, they'd say the same thing!"

No one says anything for several seconds, I take a couple steps to sit down, and I hear laughter behind me. I turn to see Gilgamesh laughing almost hysterically, "In all my time I don't think I've ever heard such worthless prattle!"

"You wanna run that by me again, snowflake?" I growl at him. I'm pretty amped up from my little speech, I thought it was pretty good.

"Certainly, I knew that a dog like you would know nothing about how to be a king, but I wasn't expecting such a blatant insult to bring me such amusement! It is clear now that you would make an excellent jester, if only I had one in my court while I…" He stops, and the smile disappears from his face. He and the other Servants start looking around.

Something strange happens, the feeling in the air changes, and a presence can be felt all around us. A person appears standing near the group, a woman, with black skin and purple hair tied into a long ponytail, wearing some kind of skin tight leather with several knives held all around her body, as well as a white mask in the shape of a skull covering her face.

Several more black skinned, mask wearing figures appear from clouds of black smoke, all around the courtyard. I pull out my M9 and load it. Both my Servants now have their weapons out and ready, we shift our positions so that I'm now between the two Arturias, Mordred on the other side of the Saber Arturia.

Iskandar and Archer haven't even bothered to stand up. As I look, there's dozens of these people all around the courtyard and on the roofs overlooking it. "This your doing, Shiny?" Iskandar asks.

Archer says nothing. Waver yells, "This is insane! Why are there so many Assassins!?"

"We are the one who has become many. We are the many that are one Servant. We are that one Servant's shadow." A voice from within the crowd of Assassins monologues.

"...A heroic spirit with multiple personalities. Each embodied in its own Servant." Waver says, almost sandwiched between Iskandar and Astolfo.

"Now that's just cheating." I say.

Waver starts to speak, voicing his concern about the situation, but Iskandar interrupts him, "Easy, boy, a king's generosity towards his dinner guests is another measurement of his quality as a ruler."

"You would allow these dogs to feast at your table?" Archer asks.

"Of course, a king's speech is for all to hear. Friend or foe, if they have come to listen, I shall offer a seat." He once again dips his ladle into the barrel and holds it over his head, "Come now! If you wish to speak with us, come and drink from this cup! This wine is as your blood!"

A couple things happen in quick succession. First: A knife flies down from the roof and slices the ladle that Iskandar is holding, causing the wine inside to spill all over him. Second: Another series of knives fly down at some of the Servants, one is aimed at my Arturia on my left, and my suit's "trophy system" kicks in and I catch the knife with my free hand, about three inches from Arturia's face, and then another one goes towards the other Arturia on my right, and my suit moves to intercept that one, but since I'm holding my M9 in that hand, the knife ends up embedding itself in my wrist. Also, one problem with the whole automatic movement system is that it can often move the body in a way that it can't naturally move, so both my arms start cramping up for a couple seconds from the extreme movement. I grunt in pain from the cramping and knife in my arm, and I look at Lancer Arturia, who's looking at me in surprise. I wink at her, and turn my attention back to the Assassins, who are now laughing at Iskandar.

"Master, are you okay?" Arturia asks.

"Yep, I'm good," When my cramping stops I look at the knife in my left hand, "there doesn't seem to be any poison on the knives." I drop the knife and pull the other out of my arm, healing it quickly, but sadly it looks like my nerves or something got fucked up, I can barely feel my hand, and the muscles are stuck in the position they're in, holding the pistol, and I can't really move my hand too much. I pry my pistol out of my hand and awkwardly holster it, then draw my Glock with my left hand, luckily I'm ambidextrous when it comes to shooting pistols, and Iskandar keeps speaking.

"Very well, I said this wine is as your blood." He stands up, "If you insist that it be spilled, then so be it." A gale of wind emanates from him, kicking up dust and blinding everyone nearby as his battle outfit returns to his figure. "Saber! Lancer! Archer! Here is this banquet's final question. Must a king stand in solitude?"

"For a king, there is no other way!" Lancer Arturia says.

"Incorrect. You have understood nothing. I will have to show you now what a true king is." The gale around Iskandar continues, and then a huge burst of light covers everything in white, causing everyone to close their eyes. When we open them again, we're all standing in a desert, sand stretching as far as we can see. A couple hundred feet away is all the Assassins, all the rest of the Servants still in our little circle.

We all look around in amazement and confusion, "What the fuck?" Mordred and I say at the same time. "Schellick, you there?" I ask, and unsurprisingly, I get no response.

"A Reality Marble?" Waver says incredulously.

"A what?" I ask.

"He… He summoned a vision from his mind into the real world!" Waver responds.

"We stand upon the same sands that my armies once marched across. This landscape, where we shared joy and sorrow, is burned into the minds of all those countless heroes." Iskandar explains.

I hear the sounds of armored soldiers marching behind us, and we all turn to look, and see an innumerable amount of men, all clad in various types of armor and sporting some kind of weapon, walking over the crest of the sands to form up alongside their king. "This world lives again, because it exists always within our hearts! Behold my endless armies! Their bodies turned to dust, and their souls returned to the world as Heroic Spirits. They are legendary warriors, who still pledge loyalty to me! My bond with them is my greatest treasure, the path of my rule! The ultimate Noble Phantasm of Iskandar. Ionioi Hetairoi!" With this final proclamation, the thousands, possibly millions of soldiers all give out a bellowing war cry that gives me goosebumps.

"This is fucking ridiculous." I say.

"Each of those soldiers is a Servant!" Waver says.

A horse gallops through the soldiers to come to a stop beside Iskandar, "Good to see you again, partner." He says as he pats the horse. "A king must live such an illustrious life that it embodies his peoples' ideals!" He says to us and his soldiers, who follow up his words with a chant of "Hail! Hail! Hail!"

Iskandar mounts his horse, "It is commanding the envy of all those heroes, and leading them forward that makes me a king! Therefore, a king does not stand in solitude! His will equals that of each of his followers!" Another round of "Hail, Hail, Hail!" from his soldiers. "So then, are you prepared to face me, Assassin?" Iskandar says as he turns back around, his voice echoing over the landscape. The Assassins start backing away slowly. "As you can see, this land is a desert plain. Unfortunately for you, this battlefield gives our numbers a distinct advantage…" He draws his sword. "Crush them!"

He begins charging forward, followed closely by his men. Everyone else, including even Astolfo and Waver, simply sit there, bewildered, as hundreds of soldiers run past us to the battle. As the army advances towards the Assassins, many break and try to flee, some attempt to fight back, and one or two just drop their weapons and wait to be killed. Iskandar beheads one with his sword, and his army releases dozens of javelins and arrows towards the rest, cutting them down quickly. The battle is over in less than a minute, Iskandar letting out a war cry, followed by his army, to signify their victory. After a few more seconds there is another flash of white and we are returned to the courtyard.

We all sit down in the middle, and Iskandar dips a cup into the barrel, "That was a lot less interesting than I was hoping it would be." He says. "Now that we have each said our piece, I think that's enough for the night."

He stands, followed by my Arturia, "Wait, Rider, I still-"

"No, be silent. Tonight was a banquet of kings. But you, Saber, and Lancer. I no longer acknowledge you as one." He draws his sword and summons his chariot. I can hear Mordred and Diarmuid growling slightly at such a blatant insult to their fellow Servants. "Little girl, wake from your sad dream." Waver and Astolfo trot over to him and mount the chariot with him. "If you cannot, you'll lose the last sliver of pride you still claim as a Heroic Spirit. The king's dream you spoke of is a curse." He rides away, leaving just the gold Archer sitting on the stone, and the red one standing nearby.

Archer speaks, "Pay him no heed, Saber, Lancer. You are correct. Follow your chosen path. Watching someone carry that heavy burden of kingship, struggling with the pain and anguish… It is superb to behold." He grins slyly at my Arturia. "Stand your ground, little King of Knights. Depending on your actions, you may prove worthy of still more of my affection." He laughs as he disappears.

The Lancers start walking away, choosing to stay in their corporeal states. My Arturia simply stands still, looking at the ground, a look of dejection in her face. "I remember… There was once a knight who left Camelot. He said that King Arthur could never understand anyone else's feelings. Maybe those feelings were shared by all who once sat at the Round Table…"

Mordred's helmet breaks apart and she looks at Arturia. "That's not true, Father. I'll admit that I thought that at one point, but I'm sure that I was the only one, other than, well… him."

Arturia turns to Mordred, and takes a couple steps toward her, then grabs her and hugs her tightly. Mordred jolts and blushes as she holds her hands out, not sure how to respond. "Thank you, Mordred, for trying to defend me."

"Uh, well… yeah, yeah no- no problem. I mean, it's not a big deal, anyone else would've done the same thing. I couldn't just let those jackasses rip on you like that." Mordred slowly pushes Arturia off her. Then she and Arturia stop for a second. "Master, there's another two Servants nearby, not any of the ones we've met so far tonight, out in the forest." Mordred says.

"Hey uh, boss, there's a car driving up to the castle, it's stopping by the main entrance." I hear Schellick say on comms.

"As promised the other night, I, Gilles de Rais, have come for you." We hear the voice of Caster projected in a similar fashion to Kayneth's at the shipping yard, but this time it sounds more like the voice is coming from in our own heads, rather than all around us, which is very unsettling. "I desire an audience with Jeanne, my beautiful virgin angel."

"Schellick, is Caster at the front door?"

"Nah boss, it's just Kayneth, he started walking to the door but stopped when he heard that voice."

"You guys hear it too?"

"Yeah, fucking creepy."

"Please take all the time you require. I have come fully prepared for a lengthy wait." The snap of a finger is heard, then a collective startled gasp from what sounds like several children. "Now my little lambs, time for a game of tag! The rules are simple. You must run away from me. If I catch you…" I can hear the sound of a young boy in pain, struggling, then a meaty crunch, and the terrified screams of a dozen or more kids, as well as the same maniacal laughter I heard when we first encountered Gilles. My blood runs cold and I feel some kind of rage boiling inside me. "Now, run! You have until I count to 100! So, Jeanne, how long do you think it will take me to catch them all?"

My Servants look at me. "Kill him." I say simply. They nod and both of them run to one of the sides of the courtyard and leap on top of the roof, then over the other side. "Minaki, Schellick, meet up with them and help them out, I'll take care of Kayneth."

"Roger, boss, he just went inside, and… the Lancers are taking off into the OH MY GOD!" Schellick suddenly screams.

"What!?" I ask, confused and concerned.

"Dude, you didn't tell me that Lancer Arturia was thicc as fuck dude! God damn!"

I chuckle, "Schellick, just shut the fuck up and focus on the mission, Gilles has some kids in there, we need to save them."

"Roger boss!"

I start jogging back through the castle to get to the front entrance. "Arturia, Mordred, the Lancers are heading towards you, I don't know if they're gonna help you or try to double team you again, be ready."

"Understood, Master." They reply.

I make it to the main entrance hall, I'm on a balcony on the right side of the hall overlooking it, standing just inside the door is Kayneth, with his slicked back blonde hair, large navy blue overcoat, hands crossed behind his back pompously. Next to him is some amorphous blob of what looks like liquid metal, it's big enough around to fit a person inside it, I have absolutely no idea what it's for, probably protection. "Ninth head of the Archibald family, Kayneth El-Melloi, at your service." He says when he sees me.

"I don't care what you're selling, I don't want any." I say with a scowl.

He pauses for a second, "Master of Saber, let us battle with honor and dignity, as we wager our lives for the Holy Grail!"

"Oh so now you give a shit about honor since it's yours at stake and not someone else's. After what your pulled at the shipping yard and the hotel, yeah, no thanks, I'm just gonna put you down." I release the spoon of the frag grenade in my hand and throw it like a baseball about a second later, straight at Kayneth. A portion of the metallic blob stretches up extremely fast and engulfs the grenade while it's still in the air. A couple seconds later there's a muffled pop, and nothing else.

"Ah shit." I say, I draw my Glock and let off about three rounds at Kayneth. Once again the blob moves at a blinding speed and surrounds him, my bullets bouncing off of it, leaving him unharmed. Before the blob re-forms I take off back down the hall, I hear his voice echoing through the halls, "To accept one such as you into the ranks of mages, oh how we have fallen." and I bolt into a room a few dozen feet down the hall. I shut the door and listen at it, waiting for him. That thing can move very quickly, so I'm gonna have to try and surprise him, catch him off guard, I don't know if that blob is autonomous or if he has to directly control it. A few seconds go by and I step back and reach for the door, only to notice that there's a small trail of the metal dangling from the keyhole in the door. It ripples a couple times, then retracts itself.

I hear the sound of wood splintering behind me, and I turn to see a blade sticking up through the floor of the room. The blade cuts the floor in a circular pattern and collapses it along with the large dining table and chairs in the room. There's now a large gaping hole in the floor, and from that hole rises Kayneth, supported by his blob. "There you are, you rat." He says. I put a few more rounds in him, and they get blocked again by the metal. He says, "Sculp!" and several tendrils appear from the blob and stab at me, aiming to crush me. My suit takes over and my body contorts to dodge the tendrils, then, grimacing in pain from my muscles being stretched, I raise my Glock and mag dump Kayneth, and as expected the blob covers him up, but it seems that he can't attack and defend at the same time, so while the metal is shielding him I drop through the hole in the floor and put into another hallway before he can attack me again.

I run down a few halls and around a corner at a spot where two halls make a T intersection, and stop to catch my breath, my body is on fire from the contortions so I'm running on autopilot, my movements controlled by the suit. That metal blob doesn't have any eyes or other sensory devices on it, so it can only detect things, not see them, and relay what it detects to Kayneth. If it's a detection system, then it must work like the Servants' detection, whereas they can't tell exactly where an enemy Servant is, just that they are nearby or in a certain area. If it could see me, then he would've just shot a blade through the floor and pierced me where I stood. So then it must sense my life force, it can detect my heartbeat or something and base my general location off of that.

I post up behind a large vase and watch the intersection behind me, I pull out my Grizzly and hold still. After a minute I see the small trail of the metal inching along the floor, and I hold my breath, the metal recedes after a moment, and Kayneth walks into the hall from the intersection, and looks left, luckily for me, because I'm on his right. But after a second he then detects me, realizing that I'm not on that side, and whips around to his right. I let off a round of my .45 and he attempts to block it, but it gets through the metal wall and hits him in the shoulder. His defenses drop for a second as he recoils from the shot and the pain. I holster my Grizzly and pull out my Glock again, emptying the magazine as I back up. I round a corner and I can hear his voice as he slowly chases after me, "Imbecile, your dirty tricks are absolutely disgusting! Simple coincidence, that's all that was! Don't think you've bested me! I will flay the skin from your body and keep you alive while I dissect you!" I can hear the sounds of him destroying everything in his path as he tries to find me.

So higher caliber rounds can get through the defenses easier, but now he'll be putting everything he has into defense, which is good. I stop in the middle of a hallway and turn around. I reload my Glock and place it on the ground at my feet, then I take out my S&W 500 and check it. All 5 chambers are loaded, I close the cylinder and place it on the ground as well. I then take out my M9 and wait. After a moment Kayneth comes around the corner, blood pumping out of his shoulder, he looks a little pale from shock, but angry as hell. "There you are." he chuckles as he sees me. I start emptying my M9 into him, and he says, "Fervor Mei Sanguis!" and the blob turns into two separate walls made up of large spikes that fill the entire hall. I empty the M9 into the wall, then crouch, drop the M9, pick up my Glock, and repeat the process with that, still crouched. Once my Glock is empty I drop it and pick up my 500, then I stand, weapon pointed at him.

"Do you really think I'll fall for the same trick twice, you idiot?" He goads me.

"Nope." I say as I pull the trigger.

The first wall of spikes starts spiraling as I pull the trigger, and it effectively eats the bullet, stopping it in mid air and catching it. But that bullet was one of my Origin Bullets, and it's most effective if magic is used to stop it.

Nothing happens.

Absolutely nothing fucking happens. He should be puking up blood right now but nothing happens. I look down at my 500 in confusion, Kayneth says "Sculp!" once more and several tendrils shoot out, pushing me back and through a wall into a small room.

"Incompetent fool, what did you think would happen, that your pathetic gun would get through my defense?" I get up slowly and painfully, grab my smoke grenade from my pocket and pull the pin, filling the room with smoke. He has about 50 feet to cross before he gets to this room so I have some time, I feel along the wall until I feel another door, and I open it, it leads into another corridor. I close the door behind me and move about fifteen feet beyond the door, pulling out my flashbang.

As I had hoped, my actions up until now have annoyed him to the point that he's become reckless. I hear him tearing up the room. His metal thing bursts the door open and he's standing just just behind it. "Bastard! How long do you plan on running from me!?"

I toss my flash bang at him, his blob strikes it, but it still goes off, the magnesium inside erupting in a deafening and blinding cacophony. He recoils, the blob losing form for a moment as he loses focus. I shoot out my zip line at him and it catches his coat on his abdomen, and I reel it in as I pounce forward, extending my combat blade on my left arm.

I aim for his throat, and his metal blob smacks me out of the way to my left, pinning me to the ceiling, but I still manage to catch his throat and cut his jugular vein and part of his larynx. Blood oozes out of his throat and mouth as he struggles to breathe, and he collapses, his blob turning to liquid and releasing me a few feet from him. He's still alive, he just can't move right now, he's bleeding out.

I get up and take a step towards him, but then I stop at a sudden prick of pain. Diarmuid appears in front me, the tip of his spear against my throat. "You do know how easily I could spear you right now, Master of Saber?" He says.

"Of course." I say, "But this is between me and him."

"I will not let my Master be killed. Nor will I kill Saber's Master. Neither she nor I wish our battle to end this way."

"Were you helping Caster fight her in the forest?" I ask. He removes his spear from my throat and stoops to pick up his Master, who has now passed out.

"No, we perceived Caster to be the most immediate danger, and I wish to end my duel with Saber honorably. Never forget, though, that the only reason you leave this place alive, is by the honor of the King of Knights."

"The same can be said for him." I say as Diarmuid jumps out a window with his Master on his shoulder, taking off into the night. I go to the window and look out, "Minaki, report."

"Boss, we're still fighting Caster, the Lancers were here helping us but they took off a minute ago, saying their Master was in danger, you got him?" She pants slightly and delays her words like she can't focus on talking, and I hear gunshots and inhuman screeches in the background.

"Maybe, I put an Origin Bullet in him but it didn't work, and Diarmuid stopped me from finishing him, I'm on the way, what's the situation right now?" I start trotting through the castle, picking up my discarded weapons.

"Yeah, boss, so uh, there's Gilles or whatever the fuck his- hey fuck you!" Schellick comes on comms and I hear a few blasts from his shotgun. "So anyways, Gilles is here with some other Servant, really weird looking dude, pale skin, wearing some jester outfit that looks like it's painted on, he's got long purple hair, wearing some weird hat, he's got a big ass pair of scissors in his hands, all he does is laugh and tell us we're all going to Hell. That dude keeps throwing exploding clocks at us, and Gilles keeps summoning these weird tentacle monster things. They've got a few kids near them as human shields so we really can't get close to them, we're just killing these creatures but they just keep coming, bullets ain't workin' either."

By this time I'm back outside, I can hear occasional gunshots from the woods, and I start jogging towards them. Once I'm about a hundred feet or so away I can see them through the trees, my Servants and team members are surrounded by these weird creatures, they resemble an octopus but they have large hairs on their tentacles, and they don't really have a head, just a gaping maw filled with razor sharp teeth. The creatures are fairly easy to kill, Mordred and Arturia are cutting them apart with relative ease, and a couple blasts from Schellick's shotgun or Minaki's rifle puts them down quick, but when they die, they dissipate into a cloud of blood, and more just file in behind them, then they just get summoned again behind the rest. I can also see the two Casters standing beyond my team, both of them laughing hysterically at my Servants' efforts.

I slow to a walk and take off my glasses. If these Casters can't be beat easily through martial means, then maybe I need to fight fire with fire. I hold my hand in front of me, palm up, and say, "Entzuenden." Which is German for "Ignite." A ball of fire appears in my hand, and flames trail up both my hands and arms to my shoulders, and my vision goes red. I remember being told in my classes at the Clock Tower that all mages have a genetic disposition towards a certain type of magic, that is: all mages will naturally excell at a certain school of magic. Pyromancy is probably my subject, since my eyes start glowing with a fiery white-orange glow when I'm using it, a trait that has very rarely been seen from anyone in the mage community, it scared the shit out of my instructors during my lessons.

I look at my team, there's nothing immediately threatening Minaki or Schellick, but they, as well as my Servants, have grouped up, they're all probably five feet or less from each other. Mordred still has her helmet off so she can see around her better, and as Arturia cuts apart a couple monsters in front of her, Mordred brings her sword up behind her to slice down on a monster, but one appears behind her and grabs her sword with a couple tendrils, holding her in place. She struggles to free herself as the monster she was about to kill starts wrapping it's tentacles around her legs. She lets out a growl of anger as she fights. I bring my hand up again and clench my fist, looking at the beast holding her sword, and I say, "Brennen."

The creature, along with several other nearby ones, spontaneously combusts, becoming completely immersed in flames and letting out a horrid screech of pain. Mordred frees herself and cuts both monsters down. Then she and Arturia, along with Schellick, turn to look at me as I walk up, a look of anger on my face, flames reaching up my arms, eyes glowing. "Oh hell yeah, Master!" Mordred says with a grin.

"Kreis der Flamme." Flames shoot up in a circle around us and the Casters, creating a wall of flame that scorches the dead trees, igniting them and starting a forest fire. "What's causing all this?" I ask about the scores of creatures.

"Gilles was blabbering earlier about Prelati or someone like that giving him that book in his hand that gives him power over 'the legions of Hell' or some nonsense. He also keeps prattling on about how Father is Joan of Arc." Mordred explains. There's a lull in activity, the demons or whatever they are aren't attacking us.

I notice that there aren't any kids around, "Where are the kids that were with them?"

"They let them go a minute ago, there's a dozen or so of them running through the forest." Minaki says.

I look at the other Caster. "Who the fuck are you?"

"Hehe...heeheehahahhahahaha! Oh, secrets, secrets! Everyone has their secrets, don't they? Hehehe, but, I guess it's only fair, I know your name… Jacob… So, you should know mine as well. Though I am supremely disappointed in you! Hahaha! I would've thought such a pious man as yourself would have burned my face into your memory so you know to stay away from me! You see… I am the right-hand man of the Devil himself! I am the one who condemns the damned! I! AM! MEPHISTOPHELES! Hahahahahaha! Oh, and I'm waiting for you!" He points a finger at me and laughs.

"Don't you point your finger at me, you demon!" I yell at him.

"Hahahahaha! Isn't that what you said to that pedophile in Syria? Hee hee hee."

My heart stops for a second, "... Go to Hell." I say, not thinking about the irony of my statement.

Mephistopheles continues his uproarious laughter, the demons once again start attacking us, I stay near my Servants, they hack and slash at the near endless amounts of creatures for a couple minutes, Minaki and Schellick are behind us, we're picking off enemies and trying to shoot whatever bombs Mephistopheles throws at us, Schellick has switched to his Dragon Breath rounds, adding to the flames that I'm creating.

"Master, I have an idea." Arturia says as we fight, "I'm sure that the tome that Gilles is holding is his Noble Phantasm, if we can damage it, it might disrupt his magic. I can use my Strike Air ability to propel Mordred forward, and if she can hit Caster, we should have a chance to win."

"Alright, let's do it." We begin slowly moving towards Caster as we fight, once we're about twenty feet away from them, Gilles says, "Have you said your final prayers? You will know terror, hopelessness! Superior skill can only do so much against overwhelming numbers! It must be mortifying to know that you will die, suffocated by a mass of demons and devils with-"

"Shaddap!" Mordred screams as she bursts forward. Arturia thrusts forward with her sword, creating a burst of air and wind to push away any monsters in the way and aid Mordred as she uses a mana burst to increase her speed as she lunges forward, aiming to skewer Gilles. He is only just able to dodge the blow, Mordred only succeeds in gouging his book, but Mephistopheles, who was standing a few feet behind him, is not so lucky. Mordred runs him through with her sword, and as all the tentacle monsters explode into a shower of blood, Gilles is frozen in disbelief, and Mephistopheles looks from Mordred's sword, which is now buried to the hilt in him, to me. "Heh, hehehaha- *cough cough hack*" He coughs up blood and says to me, "Guess I'll see you later, huh?" with a smile on his face.

Mordred brings her sword up and splits him in half, resulting in a spray of blood that coats her entire front. His body flops to the ground and disappears in specks of golden dust. "No… No no no NO NO NO NO NONONONONO!" Gilles starts screaming, "Damn you! Damn you damn you damn you damn you! DAMN YOU!" He screeches, once again he talks and it sounds more like he's hissing and growling. The ground erupts beneath us and huge bursts of red clouds blind us. Once the dust settles, Gilles is now gone. I look around, no other hostiles around, I hold up my hand and my sword dissipates, leaving only the flame.

"Zuruecktreten." I say, and all the flames around us, as well as the ones on my body recede, and my vision and eyes return to normal. "I think... We'll call it a night." I say, "Minaki, when we get back to the car, call the cops and say you saw a kid in the woods, make it an anonymous tip, that'll get them out here to start searching for them."

We head back to the car, pack up our gear, and head back home. On the way back, Schellick drives, and I'm in back with my Servants. I lean my head back, exhausted from the events of the night and having to use so much mana, I'm barely conscious. "Master," Arturia asks next to me, "If you don't mind me asking, what was Mephistopheles saying when he mentioned someone in Syria?"

I take a deep breath. "Ah, well… Several years ago, I was with an army unit that was deployed in Syria, and one day we got this mission to raid a small hotel that was acting as a front for a child sex trafficking ring. So we went in, we started clearing rooms in this building, detaining anyone we found inside. Now, this was during, uh, 'business hours', so we found a few kids in there, and we took them and helped them out, but one of the last rooms we went into, well, there was a guy in there, and he was, he was getting what he paid for, I guess… Heh… And I grabbed him from behind and threw him on the ground, his pants were down and everything, and while the guy behind me starts putting cuffs on him, I turn to the kid that he was fucking, and, laying on the bed that the guy was on… was… a baby. I about puked when I saw it. I went to check on it, but it… and this is probably the only positive part of this story… it had been dead for a little while, maybe like six hours or so by my guess. And I turned back to the motherfucker that was on the ground, and… I'll spare you the details of what we did to him, but I'll tell you that he did not leave that room alive, and he had a very, very painful trip to Hell. His screaming was like music to my ears at the time, but now… I should've just put a round in his head and been done with it."

No one says anything for a few seconds. "I… I am sorry, Master.' Arturia finally says.

"Eh, it's fine, I think… Well, it's not your fault." I respond.

I close my eyes, "Master?" Mordred asks, "Mmm." I grunt my response, "Do you think our wishes are stupid?" She continues.

"To save Britain?" I ask, opening one eye and looking at her, she nods. "Not really, it could use saving right now. Letting in all those immigrants and trying to become socialist. Anyways, I don't think your intentions are bad, it's the way you're going about it. Arturia, you want to go back in time and stop yourself from becoming king. Mordred, you want to go back in time and try to become king in the place of King Arthur. Technically you have the same dream, but making that dream a reality would be bad, it would nullify all the work that was done in your name. You two are legends in Britain, you're both held up as paragons of what you stood for, even today. To get rid of that would possibly destroy what Britain is now, since you kinda set the standard on what a king should be for a long time after you died."

"So then what should we do, Master? If not that then what should we wish for?" Arturia asks.

"That's up to you. I've found that in life, when one door gets slammed in your face, it's because God, or whatever you believe controls your life, wants you to go through another one."

We stay quiet for the rest of the trip home.

 **This is, obviously, a work in progress, and I am currently working on future chapters and will publish them as soon as possible, but because of my current job it can be difficult to take the time to sit down and write. I would like to thank everyone for their patience as you go on this journey with me.**


	12. Chapter 12

It's almost 24 hours later, Schellick and I are sitting in the car. When we got back to the house we all staggered to bed, we had been fairly drained from the events of the night. Luckily we had nothing planned for today, so we slept in a little and started working on trying to find Caster.

I've noticed that since doing the mana transfer rituals with my Servants, my bond with them has increased. We have a stronger mental connection, being able to more easily read each other's thoughts and emotions, and the constant drain of mana from me to them has been streamlined, it has less of an effect on me and I notice it less, which is good, since I can now give them more mana to use in a fight and they then become more powerful, not having to hold back as much. Also, I'm not sure if it's a result of us spending so much time together or a result of what we had to do during the ritual, but they seem to be more… infatuated with me, it's not a huge change, they're not constantly doting on me or asking for romantic gestures, but they seem more open with me, they smile and laugh more around me, which is nice.

Anyways, Waver told us that Caster is in the Sewers, so we got a layout of the city sewer system, and marked several possible locations that might work as an evil lair. Now Schellick and I are waiting for the women to grab what they need and get in the car. I'm sitting behind Schellick, who is in the passenger seat.

"Hey boss, I got a serious question to ask. About uh… Arturia." Schellick suddenly says.

"Ok, what is it?"

"So, I was thinking, with regards to her and the Lancer her being on earth at the same time… If they were to uh, have sex, would it be considered masturbation?"

I think about that scenario, both Arturias getting hot and heavy on some bed, making out and taking each other's clothes off, not a bad image if I do say so, for about a second, then we both start laughing. "I uh, I dunno. You'd have to ask her what she thinks about that."

"Boss, you know exactly what would happen if I asked her that."

"Yeah, I'd have to go to your girlfriend's house and tell her you died in a training accident." We laugh some more.

"Oh! Maybe I'll ask Mordred!" He says.

"Oh man! I don't even know what she'd do, the way she idolizes Arturia… She's probably thought about it too." We laugh hysterically once more.

The driver's door opens and Minaki gets in, "The hell are you guys laughing at?" She asks.

"Trust me, you don't wanna know." Schellick answers.

There's a knock on my window, and I jolt a little as I look to see who it is. Minaki starts the car. Arturia and Mordred are standing by my door, glaring at me angrily. Mordred, who is leaning in and was the one who tapped on the window, raises her hand and curls her finger in a "come here" gesture. As I roll down the window Schellic says, "Oh no. Well boss it was nice knowin' ya, I'm gonna stay here."

Once the window is rolled down I look at them and say, "Yes?" as sweetly as I can and give a nice smile.

Mordred grabs me by my plate carrier that I have on and drags my upper body out of the window, "Woah! Woah woahwhawhawha!" I protest as she does this. Once I'm out of the car, Arturia slaps me across the face. I can tell that she didn't use her full strength, because if she did I'd be dead right now. "What the hell was that for?!" I almost yell at her.

"Master, I have said before, please refrain from thinking such debaucherous things about us, neither I nor Mordred wish to view such insulting images, and the likelihood of it has only increased with our bond raising." Arturia says with a scolding tone.

"That wasn't my fault! I'm a guy, I have no control over what pops into my head! Schellick asked a question that made me think about it for a second, that's all!"

Mordred lets go of me and they turn their fiery gazes to Schellick for a second, then they both go around to the other side of the car and get in. Once they're in Minaki takes off down the road. After a minute, Arturia asks in a very forced refined voice, "So, Mr. Anthony, what was this burning question that you asked my Master that caused him to imagine me and… my other self engaging in intercourse?"

Minaki snorts in laughter, trying to hold it in so she can focus on driving. Schellick responds, "Oh, heh, well uh, um… it was just a… ah, general question about Servants and uh, that magic transfer thing, it was just bugging me and it's also kinda a joke, it's not a big deal."

"Hmm, well, I do have extensive knowledge of magic in regards to Servants, perhaps you would like to ask me, maybe I can give a better answer than Master. And… If it is a joke, I'm sure we'd all love to hear it."

Schellick sighs, then turns around in his seat, looking at me, "Boss, should I ask her?"

"Do you wanna die?" I retort with a smirk.

He thinks for a moment, then looks at Arturia, "Alright, but I need your word that neither of you will hurt me for it."

Arturia and Mordred look at each other. Mordred shrugs. "Very well, you have my word as a king and knight, Neither I nor Mordred will harm you."

"Alright, so, um, with regards to Lancer Arturia, if… ifyoutwoweretohavesexwouldthatbeconsideredmasturbation?" Schellick says quickly, then turns around and looks forward rigidly.

I look at Arturia and Mordred, it's too dim to see whether or not they're blushing, but I can see their expressions. Mordred is frozen in shock, and Arturia looks deep in thought. I see more images of "Arturia Lancer x Saber OwO" in my head, both of which are drastically different from my original thought, one is actually in first person rather than third, confirming that they thought about it too. "You guys thought about it too didn't you?" I slyly remark.

"Shaddap Master! Shut up shut up shut up!" Mordred screams at me, threatening to punch me.

"See? It wasn't my fault!" I declare.

Everyone except for Mordred and Arturia laugh. After a few more moments Arturia says, "No… Since she is not _me,_ but rather an alternate version of me, it would be closer to twin siblings, so no."

"You thought about it for that long?" I ask.

"Well… Yes, it was a valid question, if a little rude." I hold my laughter.

Mordred looks like she's sulking between me and Arturia, " _I don't get what you see in the other Arthur, my Father is way cuter."_ She says to me. I look at her quizzically, and she glances at me, "What? I'm just sayin' The only thing Lancer Father's got goin' fer her is her huge chest. You said it yourself Master, big breasts fill a man's hand, small breasts fill a man's heart." At this point, everyone is looking at her, she didn't realize she said that last part out loud. She looks around, "Shut up! I didn't say nothin'!" She continues to sulk while we laugh some more. I don't know when was the last time my sides hurt this much from laughing.

…

I step over the rapidly deteriorating body of one of those squid things that Gilles summons, Arturia and Mordred just got done cutting down about half a dozen of them. We've been walking through a large sewage drain for a few minutes now, taking our time to keep quiet. Mordred and Arturia are in front, if we get attacked by Caster or run into some kind of trap then their magic resistance, and the fact that they're Servants, obviously gives them a much higher chance of survival than myself, Minaki, or Schellick. I'm directly behind my Servants, Minaki is behind me, and Schellick is bringing up the rear, checking behind us.

The drain is basically a large tunnel, almost big enough to drive a car through, and it's well lit, with lights at ground level illuminating the floor, so we don't have our night vision on right now. Based on the presence of those creatures we must be getting close to Caster's hideout. The lights start dimming and almost go out completely by the time we make it to the end of the tunnel. I have a hand on Arturia's shoulder as I look down while we walk, so that I don't accidentally kick a rock or something and make a bunch of noise, and I almost run into her as she almost bumps into Mordred, who is in the front, as she suddenly stops at the entrance to some large room, which is completely black.

"What? We got a trap?" I ask.

"No, Master… It's… uh… haah, dammit! Master, stay here."

"Mordred, what's…?" Arturia says before she steps beside Mordred and stops as well.

"Master, seriously, you shouldn't see this." Mordred asserts.

"How can you see it anyway?" I ask.

"As Servants we can see in the dark as if it were day." Arturia explains.

"Oh, alright then." I don't know how I didn't know that before. "Anyways, Mordred, I've seen a lot in my life," I step up and turn my night vision on, "I should be fine with whatever-"

The first thing I notice is the smell, it's a smell that no one wants to ever experience, but once you have, you never forget it. The next thing I notice is...

Bodies.

Lots… And lots… And lots of bodies.

All of them…

Are children…

Most of them are cut apart, missing limbs or a head or… genitals... There's blood all over floor, the room is some kind of reservoir or something, there's pillars all over, blocking my full view of the place, but just from what I can see, there's at least a dozen bodies, and there's even more pieces of discarded clothing and miles of guts strewn everywhere. There's blood on the walls and pillars, and a couple remains hanging from hooks.

My breath catches in my throat and I feel like I'm about to vomit. "Ah." Is all I'm able to squeak out.

"I tried to warn ya, Master." Mordred growls beside me. I look at her, she's staring straight ahead with a look of disgust on her face, her eyes shining slightly in my night vision from the water welling up in her eyelids.

"This is… beyond anything I thought humans were capable of…" Arturia says. She has the same nigh on robotic expressionless face, but I notice tear streaks on her cheeks.

"Holy fuck." Minaki says as she steps up behind me and peers over my shoulder.

"You uh… y-you good boss?" Schellick asks.

I nod slightly, "Let's… let's search for any info we can get on who this fucker is and where he might be…" I mumble. Everyone acknowledges and we spread out, I try to avoid looking at what's on the ground while I walk, but that might not have been a great idea, as eventually I feel a meaty squish as I put my foot down and I also feel… something… splatter up onto my face. I can feel myself getting more and more nauseous, I'm shaking in rage, disgust, and terror.

I close my eyes, step back, and look down, trying to control myself. Once my breathing is a little under control I open my eyes again and instantly wish I hadn't. There's the severed head of a little girl looking at me. I recognize it as one of the children who went missing since her face has been plastered all over the news for about two weeks now. Her face now looks nothing like the picture, it's sunken in slightly, most likely from malnourishment, and decaying. Her face is stuck in an expression of abject horror, eyes wide and soulless, mouth slightly agape, some teeth and her tongue are missing.

This is like something out of a damn horror movie. My M4 falls out of my hand and clatters onto the ground. I hear Schellick somewhere else, retching and heaving, and a soupy splash onto the blood soaked ground. Hearing this causes me to start dry heaving, and only through extreme effort do I keep from doing the same as him.

I turn away again and cover my mouth, and Mordred and Arturia walk up to me, "Master, are you alright?" Arturia asks.

I shake my head, "I'm sorry, I just… Oh my God…"

"It's alright Master, I'd kill anyone who could look at this and not feel anything." Mordred says.

I pick up my M4 as Minaki and Schellick come up to us from other areas. "Nothing, boss, just a… some kind of scrying orb. I destroyed it." Minaki reports.

"There's a… another room back that way, but it… it just has a cage in it… filled with… guh… He's not here, boss." Schellick says.

"Alright, let's get the fuck out of here." I say.

We make our way out the way we came in, back out to the city and to our car. During the drive back, no one speaks, we don't play music, we all just sit and stare straight ahead. I pull out my phone and make a call.

"Hello, this is Father Kotomine." The old man answers.

"Hello, Father, this is Saber's Master. We have… important information regarding Caster and his Master…"

…

When we get back to the house, I go straight to my room, everyone else lingering in the main room. I close my door and start taking my weapons off. The whole time I'm thinking of what we just saw. Those kids, whose parents are worried sick about them. I know how they might feel, but I could never imagine what'll happen when they find out the truth… I start thinking about other kids: the baby in Syria, a ten year old child soldier who died in my arms after having his lower half blown off. I think about my wife, how she held my hand and my face as she left this world with me sitting right next to her hospital bed…

Tears start rolling down my face. I draw shaky breaths and I remove my helmet. I see the picture inside that I keep. It's one I took of my daughter shortly before I left. That's what does me in. I start sobbing and shaking, and after a second I hurl my helmet at the wall that separates my room from the main room. This is a traditional Japanese home so most of the interior walls are made of paper, so the helmet goes through easily.

"GHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" I scream into the air, then collapse onto my knees. "I'M GONNA KILL HIM! I'M GONNA _FUCKING_ KILL HIM!" I emphasize my words by pounding my fists into the floor.

My door opens and Arturia and Mordred rush into the room, Schellick and Minaki watching worriedly from the doorway. "Master!" Arturia says as they come in.

"I'm gonna gouge out his eyes and shove them down his throat! I'm gonna strangle that cunt to death with his own _fucking intestines!_ I'm gonna parade his corpse through the goddamn streets after I send him to fucking HELL!" I start to get up but my Servants latch on to me, hugging me tightly and preventing me from moving.

I'm crying so hard I can't even see, I bury my face into someone's shoulder. "They're kids. They're fucking kids! You don't do that, you just don't…*sob* They're someone's children, they could've been my kids… It could… *sob*... Violet… Something… Something could've happened to her while I'm here and... I… I can't… I don't want to… I can't lose you… I love her… I love you… I don't want to lose her… I love you all so much, I don't want you to go…" I grab both of my Servants and hug them, crying into their shoulders for what feels like hours, but is probably just a couple minutes.

I've only had a breakdown like this a couple of times in my life before. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry, I just… Don't let me be alone…" I whisper.

I feel a hand gently placed on my head, and Arturia says, "It's alright Master, we will stay with you until the end."

I continue to vent my sadness into them until I feel composed enough to let them go. We then all go to bed.

…

I look at my phone, laying on my back. 0553, fucking hell. I look over at Arturia, curled up next to me sleeping. I can never get over just how different her face looks when she's asleep. I only slept for maybe an hour between the time I went to bed, sometime around 2230, and now.

I keep thinking about those kids, about how fucked up whoever killed them is, about how maybe if I had focused on Caster instead of Lancer they might be alive right now. I carefully get up and put on some sports shorts and a t-shirt, then leave the room. In the living room I find Mordred laying on her back on the couch, head dangling over the armrest, in her normal clothes minus her jacket, playing some game on her phone. She looks at me as I come out, "Hey, Master!"

"Hey, what're you doing up so early?"

She sighs and drops her phone onto the floor. "I can't sleep for some reason and I'm bored outta my mind!"

"Well in that case, wanna go work out with me? I need to blow off some steam."

"Work out?"

"Yeah. Run, lift weights, move your body, you never did anything like that before?"

"Hmm, not really, we just practiced fighting all the time and that got us our exercise mostly."

"Alright then, let's go." We exit the house and I pull up a nearby gym on my phone. It's about two miles away. After selecting a workout playlist on my phone I take off and we run to it, covering the distance in about 12 minutes, a pretty good time for me. By the time we get there I'm panting pretty hard and starting to suck in air. Mordred, being a Servant, is largely unaffected, she kept pace with me the whole time. I realize that she probably sucked some mana out of me to keep going, making me more tired than I normally would be.

"You tired already, Master? We just got here." She teases me.

"Shut up." Is all I can manage as I try to regain my breath. We both laugh as we go in. It's a standard gym, with one section having lots of weight lifting machines and free weights with bars, and another having lots of cardio machines like treadmills and bikes. I pay for a full day use of the facility and we start working out. There aren't too many other people in the gym, maybe about a dozen gym rats spread out around, working on whatever they feel they need to improve. No one really pays attention to us, which is nice.

Since the run here worked our legs, or at least mine, I go over to some machines and work my upper body with lifts, presses, and curls. While I'm doing a bear complex, I ask Mordred, "Hey Mordred, I was wondering, are Servants just constantly stronger than people or can you, like, turn it off and on?" I was wondering this since I thought, Servants on average are 30 to 50 times stronger than most normal humans, being capable of shattering someone's ribs just by giving them a light punch, but I've observed several instances of Servants interacting with humans and not killing them by slapping them in the face or patting them on the back or shaking their hand. So either they have to constantly exist as if they're superman, having to check every action and behave like the whole world is made of paper, or they can somehow "deactivate" this extreme strength, or at least activate it when they want to.

"Hmm, well as far as I know, we Servants are able to use our abilities because of the mana that you as a Master give us. But it's more like we pull mana from you when we need to use it to activate abilities and stuff, and that also applies to our stats, I think. Right now I'm only as strong as I was in life because I'm not currently pulling mana to use my strength, otherwise we'd constantly be draining your mana… Well, a lot faster than we normally do."

"Hmm, alright… Deadlift this." I motion to the bar on the ground, which weighs about 160 lbs right now.

"Wait, Huh?"

"Yeah, deadlift, you know, that thing I was doing earlier." I demonstrate a deadlift very easily, since just a little bit ago I was doing them with about 330 pounds on while Mordred was doing one arm rows with 20 lbs dumbbells. "I just wanna see where you're at."

"Fine." She steps up to the bar and squats down (and if you don't know why I internally say "mmm" when she does, then I can't help you), grabbing ahold of it, she prepares to lift.

"Also no magic." I say.

Mordred looks at me with an irritated expression, "I may be a traitor but I'm not a cheater, Master." She gives a cocky grin and I chuckle, bringing a bottle of water to my lips. Mordred pulls up on the bar, grunting as she uses all of her natural strength. The bar doesn't move. "What!?" She exclaims, and I nearly choke on my water as I snort and cough in laughter. "Shaddap Master!" She says loudly, her face turning a little red, trying a couple more times to lift the bar but to no avail, it may as well be Mjölnir.

"Ah… I'm sorry," I say after I've finished coughing water out of my lungs, "I was just, I expected you to just 'yeet' the fucking thing to the ceiling, not that! Ahahaha! What? Big bad knight can't even lift 150 pounds?" I tease her.

"Keep talkin' Master, I'll show you a big bad knight." She grumbles.

We keep working out for a couple hours, trying out most of the different machines, eventually my body is shot so we call it a day and head back to the house. On the way back I get a call on my phone from the Church.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Master of Saber, this is Father Kotomine, I would like to inform you that in light of the information you gave us about Caster's Master, we have come to a decision on the matter. It appears that Caster's Master has very little interest in the Grail War, and is simply using their Servant to aid in their own personal goals. We believe that Caster's Master is the notorious serial killer that is terrorizing the city, and obviously this is a gross violation of the rules. So we have decided to offer a reward for anyone who can manage to defeat Caster and his Master, and that reward is an extra command seal, one of several that went unused during previous Wars. Obviously this is a valuable asset, and it is very important that Caster be eliminated as soon as possible before he causes more damage."

"Roger that, Father, we'll do what we can."

"Have a blessed day, my child."

…

When Mordred and I go through the gate into the yard surrounding the house, we see everyone else outside, Arturia sparring with Schellick. Schellick swings at Arturia, and she easily parries the attack, stepping in and grabbing him, and then she throws him several feet in our direction. He lands a few feet in front of us, and as Minaki laughs at him, I step over him and stoop down to pick up his now discarded wooden sword.

"Your problem is that you stepped before you attacked, and that gave me a clear indication of where you were going to strike. You need to strike first with your arms and then follow through with the rest of your body." Arturia explains.

Schellick indicates that he heard her by groaning into the ground. I begin sparring with Arturia while explaining to everyone what the priest told me. One cool thing is that because I now have both Arturia's and Mordred's memories implanted into my subconscious, I now have two lifetimes of knowledge on sword fighting. It doesn't make me an expert like them, but I can pick up on the techniques a lot faster than most people, so in the last week I've been able to gain experience equivalent to around six months of training through sparring sessions like the one we're having now.

We train for another hour or two, taking it easy and just going over concepts rather than having full blown sparring sessions on account of my sore muscles. After that we spend the rest of the day looking for other potential hiding places for Caster and his Master, we're assuming that now they've moved their base of operations since we went there. That night we all spread out around the city, looking for anything suspicious.

…

I check my watch for probably the sixth time in the last ten minutes. 0027, nice. I stretch and yawn, being on less than four hours of sleep in the last two days hasn't been good for me. I'm sitting on a roof in a not so great part of the city, watching the occasional passerby for any strange activity.

For a while there's nothing, pretty much just the rare late night businessman walking to catch a train home, but after a little while I notice something very odd. A young man, maybe about 23, with ginger hair, wearing a purple jacket and purple jeans, leading three or four elementary age kids down the street. I look through my sight at him.

Normally I wouldn't think too much of this, as a single father I know all too well the… assumptions that people will think of when they see a man alone with a child, and so I try to avoid jumping to conclusions in that regard. But there's a few factors that set off some warning bells for me. This guy looks nothing like the kids, so he's most likely not their father or older brother. It's almost one in the morning, way later than someone should be out just casually walking around with their kid. Finally, the guy is wearing some weird glowing purple bracelet, and the kids have a weird dazed look that makes me think there's some kind of magecraft going on.

I watch the guy walk down the street, talking quietly but excitedly to the kids, who show no response to his words. Something else catches my eye and I look behind the guy. Trailing him is a little girl, maybe eight or nine, holding some kind of amulet, trying not to be seen. Yeah, something is definitely going on here. I follow the guy as best I can on the rooftops until he takes the kids down an alley and down some steps into an old foreclosed bar.

The girl follows him into the bar, and I drop down onto the street, quietly going down the steps. I listen at the door for a moment. I hear a little girl's scream.

"Oh, it's so good you're here, we were just about to start a party!" I hear the voice of the young man, the slow, giggly tone that you only hear in the voice of the insane is apparent.

"Get away from me!" I hear the girl grunt and the guy cry out in pain, glass shattering.

"Oh come on, why'd you have to go and do that? We were having fun! Don't you want to have fun too? You know what they say, the more, the merrier."

"What did you do to them?" The girl asks. I enter the room, it's a small, dusty bar filled with old tables and chairs stacked on top of them, on one side away from the door is a bar, and standing on top of the bar is the girl, with brunette hair done into twin tails, wearing a school uniform. She's throwing bottles and glasses and anything else she can at the guy who's slowly advancing towards her.

"I just asked them to join my party, they're my guests!" His tone is getting more angry, but he's smiling maniacally as he blocks the projectiles. I look around and see a group of maybe a dozen kids, all of them are unconscious, spread around the room, some on tables and chairs, others slumped against a wall or each other.

I draw my 500 and start slowly making my way over to the man, then he lunges for the girl, and she grabs his wrist where he has the glowing bracelet, and a strange purple haze emanates from it. For a moment the girl looks dazed and distant, but she regains her composure and suddenly a bright fire-like blue light and gale of wind emanates from her. She's a mage? Holy shit. Both me and the guy are frozen in awe for a second as she yells something like a war cry, screaming "I'll destroy this thing!" and the bracelet shatters into several pieces. The kids in the bar stir after a blue mist starts evaporating off their bodies and they look around, confused, some crying. One girl looks at the twin tailed girl and mumbles, "Rin-chan?"

"This is no time to cry! Go, run! Get out of-!"

The girl yells at them to leave, and they all jump up and start running to the exit. The girl is cut off when the guy grabs her by the throat and starts choking her. "That's it! You just ruined my party! Now it looks like I'm just gonna have to play with you!" The girl starts fighting, kicking and hitting him but to no avail, grunting and gurgling.

My hand grabs him on the neck and I lift him up and over my head, bringing him down behind me onto a table, which splinters into a couple pieces when he impacts it. Luckily he let go of the girl when I grabbed him, she sits on the bar, coughing. Once he's on the floor, I put a boot onto his chest and point my revolver at his face. I turn and toss my phone to the girl. "Take this, keep the others in the street. Call the police. Don't tell them about me." She nods weakly, still wheezing, but gets up, pausing for a moment.

I turn my attention back to the man, I notice a red symbol on his hand, marking him as a Master. He hacks and groans as he regains consciousness, blinking rapidly as he looks at me, blood running from his nose. "Aha, who are you?"

I show him my symbol, "Saber's Master, now who the fuck are you?"

"Oh, nobody much," he turns his head and sees the remnants of his bracelet, "Ah, he's gonna be pissed… I'm just an aspiring artist."

"Art… is that what you call that shit in the sewers?" I look at him with a mixture of loathing and disgust. I hear footsteps behind me, the girl leaving finally to scurry up the steps.

"Oh! So _you_ were the one who saw that. I wish you would've waited, the gallery wasn't open yet."

"GALLERY!?" My temper flares, my vision goes red as my pyromancy activates spontaneously, flames trailing down my arms and to the tip of my combat blade on my left arm that extended after I twitched in rage. "You think this is a motherfucking game you psychopath!?" I cock back the hammer on my weapon.

He chuckles, hands up next to his head, completely calm despite the fact that he has the barrel of a gun a foot and a half from his face. "Well obviously it must be since you haven't killed me yet." He points a finger at me and laughs.

He's right, I should've just put this lunatic down when I had the chance. But… part of me wants him to live, so that I can make him suffer, make him feel what his victims felt. Maybe I should just put a bullet, or hell, the whole cylinder, into his face. Maybe I should shoot him in some non-lethal parts and let him feel complete agony while I slowly waste him. Maybe I should stab him in the throat and let him choke on his own blood. Fuck, I bet this twisted son of a bitch rapes his victims before, during, and after he's killed them, maybe I should move my foot back a couple feet and crush his balls like grapes before I shoot his dick off. Maybe I'll shoot him in the spine and make him crawl to- "Gandr!"

My indecisiveness turned out to be my downfall. A black and red ball of energy shoots out of his finger and hits me in the chest. My front plate carrier stops it, but shatters, and the force of the projectile sends me flying up and back, flipping once. I hit the shelf behind the bar and crumple onto the ground as a dozen empty liquor bottles fall on top of me. He just used a curse on me, it functions like a bullet. If I didn't have my armor on I'd probably be dead. I hear the guy get up and run outside, I get up and point my weapon at him, but by the time I acquire him he's out the door and up the stairs. "Fuck!" I curse as I chase after him, staggering to my feet.

By the time I get up the stairs, he's gone. I look around for any clues as to where he might have gone but he basically just vanished. "Dammit! Fuck!" I curse again as I go out to the street, the kids are sitting huddled together in the middle of the street, partially illuminated by a streetlight. I find the girl, I guess Rin is her name, she's looking after a boy about her age with red hair, asking him "Are you okay, Shirou?"

"I'm fine, Rin! Quit bugging me! It's just a-" He stops and they both look at me as I approach.

I crouch down, smiling a little, "Is everyone here okay?" Rin nods. "Did you call the police?" She nods again, I hold out my hand, "I'm gonna need that back then." She gives me my phone. "And remember, don't mention me, I don't exist."

I stand up as they look at me quizzically, and I start walking away. "Mister!" I hear behind me. I turn and see the red haired boy, and he looks at me and asks, "Who are you?"

I look at him for a second. He looks… Familiar… I say the only thing I think he'll understand. "I'm… a hero." I smile and take off down the streets, grappling up to the roofs as police cars turn the corner down the street and head towards the kids. I feel like Batman right now. "Alright everyone," I say over comms, "Let's call it a night, I got a story for y'all."

 **This is, obviously, a work in progress, and I am currently working on future chapters and will publish them as soon as possible, but because of my current job it can be difficult to take the time to sit down and write. I would like to thank everyone for their patience as you go on this journey with me.**


	13. Chapter 13

The next morning I wake up early again, but Mordred isn't up, so I spend some time cleaning my gear, thinking about last night. Now that I know what Caster's Master looks like, and I've kinda vented my anger at him, I'll be able to just merk that son of a bitch next time I see him. Schellick walks out of his room while I scrub down my mobility gear, grabs some juice in a can, and comes back out to the table. "Mornin' boss."

"Mornin'"

"You… you doing alright? I know things have been kinda shit lately, and uh, after the other night I was, uh, just wondering…"

I stop and look at him, "I… guess I'm doing about as well as I can in this situation. And, yeah, I guess it has been shit. Seeing all those kids… and thinking of Violet… But, next time I see this dude, I'm wasting him, no doubt. I got stupid last night, but that won't happen again."

"Mmm, so what are we doing now?"

"Now… I think it's best to take a little break. I doubt Caster or his Master are gonna do much now that they know we, and maybe the other Masters, are looking for 'em. So I was think-" I get interrupted by my phone ringing. I look at it and once again it's a number I don't recognize. I answer it and say, "Hello?"

"Hello, my name is Tokiomi Tohsaka, head of the Tohsaka family, I presume I am speaking with the Master of Saber?"

I put the phone on speaker so Schellick can hear as well. "Yeah."

"Ah, good. My daughter told me about what transpired last night between you and Caster's Master."

"Wait… How do you..?"

"Hmm? Oh, the girl you met, with the amulet, that was my daughter, Rin."

"Rin… oh, oh alright. Yeah."

"Yes, it was a shame you could not put that animal down, but perhaps the fates have decided the seal should go to another… anyways, I would like to thank you for helping, and saving my daughter."

"Oh. Uh, yeah, no problem… wait, how did you get this number? Are you tracking me?"

Tokiomi chuckles, "Oh no, don't worry. My family doesn't own telephones, this call was set up by the Church using one of their landlines."

"Ah, ok."

"Yes… Well, I shall leave you be, may you have luck in all your future battles, whomever your opponent may be."

"Yeah. You too." I end the call. Huh, alright then. "Ok… so… what were we talking about?"

"Uh… something about what we're doing today."

"Oh yeah! So yeah, I was thinking that we should go-"

"M-Master!" I hear Arturia's voice behind me.

I turn my head and say, "huh?" Then I get a face full of Arturia's chest as she presses her body against me. I can feel the small valley between her breasts through her shirt as she wraps her arms around my head and shoulders. She feels stiff, like she's nervous or unsure of her motions. "A- Arphuria? Wha're y' dhoin'?" I say into her body.

"I… I understand that people do this to comfort others."

She's… giving me a hug? I mean I'm not gonna complain right now but… "Do I need comforting?" I ask, not moving.

"Well… I don't know, I just thought that with everything that's transpired in the last few days, it might be hard on you."

Why does everyone think I'm so upset that I need comfort or counseling? I mean yeah, that shit in the sewers was probably the most fucked up thing I've ever experienced, and I am kicking myself for letting that guy get away, but it did feel good to power slam that bitch into a table, and now that I've gotten my anger out of the way, I can just simply shoot him next time I see him and be done with it. I laugh a little as I gently push Arturia off me, "Thanks, I do feel a little better, but I think I'll be ok."

"Alright Master, but as your Servant, your well being is my main priority."

"We should get her a maid outfit." Schellick says with a chuckle.

Arturia glares at him, "You think I don't know what maids are?" She asks him.

"Aaaanyways," I stop their argument before it begins, "I was thinking we could go to a-"

My phone goes off again, and at this point I'm getting irritated from all the interruptions, I look at it and I'm getting a FaceTime from Mordred. I answer it and ask, "What!?" More aggressively than I should.

Mordred appears on my screen, she's laying on her back, on her bed, phone held up in the air… and she's naked. Her chest is completely exposed. "Woah! Cool, it works! Hey Master! Ah this is awesome, it's like one of those scrying mirror things or a crystal ball!"

"Mordred, what are you doing?" I ask.

"Oh, I just wanted to try this out since I never did before, it's-"

"MORDRED!" Arturia shrieks, causing both me and Schellick to jump and Mordred to drop her phone. "Show some decency and cover yourself if you're going to talk with Master!"

My screen goes black and I can hear faint rustling sounds as Mordred moves around, "You know, Father, it's not like he hasn't already seen my body."

"That doesn't matter! Acting in such a shameless manner is beneath someone of your stature!"

The call ends and a couple seconds later Mordred opens her door and walks out, wearing some hastily thrown on shorts and a black t-shirt with some kanji written on it. "Jeez Father, you need to loosen up a little."

"And you need to tighten up a little, Sir Mordred, it's called compromise."

"Well I remember Master saying at some point that I'm pretty tight, so I don't think I need to tighten up any more!"

Schellick snorts in laughter. "I think Master was referring to something else, Mordred." Arturia says.

"SO! Anyways! I was thinking that we-" I start.

"What the hell is going on out here?" Minaki finally emerges from her room.

I pound my fists on the table and almost scream, "Shut the fuck up Minaki!" Everyone stops, I take a deep breath, "Sorry, sorry. I was thinking that we could go to an arcade later today. I think it could be a fun way to relax a little after all that we've gone through recently."

"An arcade…" Arturia muses.

"Hell yeah, let's do it!" Schellick says.

"Alright, we'll head out sometime after lunch." I say.

…

At around 1500, I finish changing and exit my room, with my gear on my back. Both my Servants are standing near the door waiting for me and the others. They've both deviated from their usual outfits, Arturia forgoing her skirt for some skinny light blue jeans, and a different white button up shirt under a gray open jacket with sleeves that stop just below her elbow. Mordred has swapped her ripped denim shorts for some black yoga pants and is wearing the same black t-shirt from earlier under her red jacket.

After looking them up and down for a second I give a small whistle, it's surprising but good, and I nod my approval at their alterations. After Schellick and Minaki come out we pack our gear into the car and head into the city. I put on some nice light feel-good dancing music while we drive. We make it to a fairly large arcade and head inside. It's kinda like a Japanese version of Dave & Busters, with tons of different games and a good sized alcohol and sushi bar.

We pay for a few re-usable cards that we swipe in order to use the game machines and we start playing games. We all stay as a group for a bit, Schellick and I play a two-player co-op rail shooter. After a trial run to get used to the controls we crush the top score. Minaki shows my Servants how to play ski ball and they play that for a bit, Arturia almost breaks one of the holes when she rolls the ball super hard, and I have to remind her and Mordred to check their strength. After a few more games Schellick and Minaki separate from us and head off somewhere else. I see a racing game where the player is on a motorcycle that they actually have to steer and lean on in order to turn, rather than just turn the handlebars a little.

I play the game a couple times, even though I'm not really into racing games, though I do enjoy riding motorcycles. While I'm playing, I smile as I wonder if Arturia and Mordred's Riding skill would transfer to this game. Once I've finished a couple races… In 10th place, I decide to give someone else a chance to play rather than endure more of Mordred's backseat driving.

"Master, do you mind if I try it?" Arturia asks.

"Sure, go ahead." I step back and let her get on the bike and play a few races. Mordred is right beside her giving "advice" like she was doing for me. I watch Arturia play, and her riding skill most likely applies to this as well because she's really good, pushing the machine to its mechanical limits to execute turns as tight as possible without sacrificing speed.

I find myself captured by her figure. I stop watching the screen and focus on her, since she's practically laying on the bike with her legs up on the pedals, her rear is curved almost perfectly and accentuated very nicely by the tight jeans she's wearing, which somehow don't hinder her moment and flexibility. " _Oh my sweet Jesus."_ I think.

Mordred turns around, looking at me quizzically, "What is it, Master?" She asks.

As she turns I wrench my gaze from Arturia, thankful that Mordred doesn't know the source of my random thoughts and also feeling a little guilty. "Hm? Oh, I just, uh… wasn't expecting her to be this good." I stammer out.

Arturia turns her head around and looks at me for a second. Oh man those eyes, this is a picture I want to save into my subconscious… Man, what is going on with me today? "This device is similar to a horse in terms of handling, so I picked up on the intricacies quickly." She returns to the game.

Arturia does two races, getting 3rd and then 1st, then starts another one. Schellick and Minaki walk by us and they stop for a second to watch. After about ten seconds I say quietly to Schellick, "Quit lookin' at her ass."

"God dammit. How'd you know, boss?"

"I know because I am too." We both chuckle.

Minaki grabs Schellick by the arm and starts pulling him away, "Alright, that's enough eye candy for you, you'll get fat." She says.

"I'm definitely getting fat somewhere." Schellick replies as he lets Minaki drag him away.

"Shut up." She says.

I turn my attention back to Arturia, she focuses on the game, a serious look on her face similar to the one she has in battle. Arturia finishes the race in second, and Mordred gives it a couple tries. While Mordred plays, I am reminded of two things. One: I suck at racing games, Mordred gets first on both her tries. Two: The one thing better than skinny jeans is yoga pants. Once we've all had our fill of the game we continue on to other ones. We wander for a bit and suddenly Arturia stops, then starts glancing around. "What's wrong?" I ask.

"I'm sensing a Servant presence nearby."

"Oh yeah, me too." Mordred says.

"How close?"

"It's… faint, but strong, there may be two of them, it's at the limit of our boundaries, but slowly getting stronger, or closer."

"Hmm, alright, we'll keep going as normal, but stay wary. I doubt anyone will try anything here though."

We continue on. While I play some sports-like games, mainly basketball and some game where you throw a ball at rows of pins, Arturia and Mordred play some luck-based or quick reflex games. Now that I think about it, letting them play those kinds of games could be cheating, since they both have reflexes that are, oh let's see, 40x faster than Bruce fucking Lee. On top of that, Arturia has an ability that allows her to almost predict the future. I play the games near me for about ten minutes and go find Arturia and Mordred standing near a small stage. Arturia is holding a small stuffed lion cub while they watch someone on the stage singing karaoke. "Any changes?" I ask Mordred.

"Yeah. The response from the Servants are stronger, there's definitely two of them, and they're closer, but I don't think they're trying to attack us, it seems more like we just happen to be in the same area."

"Hmm… Works." We stand and watch people get up on stage and do karaoke with either singing or playing an instrument. The way the karaoke system works is pretty much the same as every other karaoke, but you select what instruments are being used after you choose the song and the system takes those out of the track being played, instead of just the voice. There's one screen in front of the performer most likely displaying the lyrics and notes of the song, and there's another couple screens facing the crowd displaying the lyrics in kanji and English.

After maybe fifteen minutes I decide to go up. I grab the electric guitar and a remote and stand in front of the mic, scrolling through songs on the screen in front of me. Most of the songs are Japanese, and I only recognize a couple of them. Eventually I get to American and Western songs and I finally find some stuff I know. Eventually I settle for a song that I was not expecting to be on the list at all: "Shiroyama" by Sabaton. It's a song about the battle of Shiroyama, the final battle of a rebellion in the late 1800's, where Ronin samurai fought Imperial Japanese forces even though they were outnumbered like 60 to 1. That battle ended about how you'd expect, and it marked the end of the Samurai as the primary fighting force in Japan, which is sad since samurai are pretty badass. I play the song, and sing the blood-stirring lyrics with all my heart. Since I'm an obvious foreigner, with my dirty blonde hair and gray eyes, and the fact that I'm performing so well, I've attracted a small crowd around me, and people are rocking out to my song.

Once I've finished the song, there's around two dozen people including my Servants and team members. I get a nice smattering of applause, Schellick and Mordred being the most enthusiastic of the crowd. Schellick shouts "Encore!" at me, and I shrug and think, fuck it. I look through the songs again. I decide on a country song. Hailing originally from a rural state I. the Northwest part of America I have a somewhat noticeable "country" accent, which allows me to sing country songs very well. I remember reading somewhere that Europeans, and probably Asians too, consider the country accent to be the sexiest of all the American accents. I find a good song, "For You" by Keith Urban (Listen to it if you don't know it, it's awesome). It's a song about self-sacrifice and love. During my second performance, which has a slightly smaller crowd, I find myself glancing at my Servants a lot, I guess I'm trying to convey some kind of message to them.

Towards the end of the song I scan the crowd, and I see something that, if I weren't so invested in the song at this point, would cause me to stop singing in surprise. Once I finish the song I get off the stage and make my way back to my group. "That was so cool, Master!" Mordred exclaims.

"Yes, that was quite the performance, Master." Arturia says.

"Eh, it was alright, I haven't actually _sang_ in quite a while so it could've been better. Anyway, I think we might need to go soon."

"Why?" Everyone asks almost at the same time.

"Well, you see-"

"That was quite the performance, Master of Saber." I hear Arturia's voice to one side.

We all look, and standing about ten feet away from us is the Lancers. Lancer Arturia is wearing a white t-shirt under a black open light summer jacket, as well as dark blue jeans and black heels. Diarmuid is wearing a dark grey casual business collared shirt with a tie that looks possibly dark green, but it's hard to tell with the somewhat dim lighting, as well as black slacks and dress shoes.

"Yo, Sabers." Diarmuid says when we see them.

My Servants step in front of me, Arturia pressing her toy lion into Minaki's hands. "What're you doing here?" Mordred says.

I grab their shoulders and pull them back next to me, "We are not trying to start a fight, especially here." I say.

"Heh, what a coincidence, neither are we." Diarmuid says.

"Then what is your purpose in coming here?" My Arturia asks.

"We were… in the area and felt your presence, and decided to investigate. When we noticed you we were…" Lancer Arturia says, pausing for a long time.

"Trying to have a little fun?" Schellick asks.

"...Yes." Arturia lets out, keeping her rigid regal posture, puffing out her chest (stretching her shirt a little) with her arms behind her back, but she avoids eye contact, as if she's a little ashamed.

"You could've just lied and said you were doing recon or something." I say.

"No, I could not. You should know that Servants cannot lie, especially to their master." Arturia explains.

That would explain a lot. I actually didn't know that before now, but it makes sense. It would cause a lot of unnecessary problems between Masters and Servants if they can't trust each other to tell the truth. "So, where's your Master?"

"He is still recovering from the wound that you dealt him. He doesn't know we're here." Diarmuid says.

I laugh, "Sneaking out, I like it… Well, we should probably get going. Stay out of trouble you two."

"You have no idea how hard that is." Diarmuid says, glancing to his left. I follow his gaze to a small group of high school girls that are standing about twenty feet away, looking at him and talking to each other, giggling. Oh yeah, the whole love spot thing.

We bid the lancers goodbye and continue wandering, and after a bit we run into a fairly large, brand new game area. There's a ring about the size of a MMA octagon, and on a wall next to the octagon are two large screens. In front of the ring is an arcade employee standing next to a table with some equipment on it. On the wall between the two screens is big white and red glowing kanji that says "Gladiator" or something like that.

"Hello, this is a brand new game, we just got it set up last week, would you like to try it?" She says as we stop to look at it.

I look back at my Servants, they nod. "Uh, sure, what is it?" I ask.

"It's a new virtual reality game called _Gladiator_ , it's the same as most other VR sword fighting games but it's two people fighting instead of one person fighting a computer."

I once again look back at my Servants, "I think you two would enjoy that. Wanna do it?"

Arturia nods, Mordred starts grinning and says "Hell yeah!" The lady picks up the equipment and leads them into the ring. She holds out one set of gear, which has red lights, out to Arturia, but Mordred grabs it. "Sorry, red's more my color." She says. The lady then hands the other set, which is blue, to Arturia.

They put on the gear. It's a VR headset, a jacket, chaps, and a sword that looks like a toy lightsaber. While the employee helps my Servants get their stuff on, she explains that the clothes have sensors on them to detect when they get hit by the swords, and they read the wearer's movement in real time. Once the gear is on, the lady has them both stand on a blue and red x inside the ring and hold their sword in front of them. She pulls their headsets down and exits the ring, picking up a tablet and imputing some controls. After a few seconds the screens on the wall come to life, one with a red outline and one with blue, each showing the perspective of the corresponding combatant. Once the headsets come on Arturia and Mordred both start looking around in surprise, messing with their swords and hands to get used to the VR.

"Now please, try to avoid hitting each other in the head or neck, we don't want any serious injuries." The employee says beside me. I pull out my phone and start recording. "Also don't break anything." I add.

Arturia and Mordred step off their respective x's and approach each other slowly, circling and sizing each other up. Their avatars in the game are just generic gladiators with patchwork armor and the weird looking helmets. One is adorned with red cloth and the other has blue. "You ready to get your ass kicked again, Father?" Mordred goads Arturia.

"If I remember correctly, the last time we did this, I was the one who kicked _your_ ass." Arturia retorts, a wry smile showing on her face.

"And if _I_ remember correctly, you cheated!" Mordred, as usual, has to have the last word.

"...Father?..." The lady beside me wonders out loud.

Ah shit. I chuckle, "Single mom, inside joke." I fib. She nods, understanding, kinda.

Once they're about ten feet away from each other, blade tips nearly touching, they begin their duel. Mordred lunges forward, jabbing, Arturia parries and attempts to counter, but Mordred recovers and blocks. They separate for a second, then Arturia slashes at Mordred's side, and Mordred blocks and pushes Arturia back a bit, opening them up again. This process repeats itself for about three minutes, both of them moving much slower than they normally would on account of the now half a dozen regular people watching them.

"Wow… they're… a lot better than I thought, that's the best I've seen so far." The employee says to me.

"Mhm, they're both into HEMA, European sword fighting." I explain. Something I've noticed in the fights we've had with other Servants so far, and is very obvious now, is that real life sword fights aren't nearly as flashy or fancy as movies and games would have you believe. Their movements are very controlled, they wait until they think that their opponent is open and they strike, but when they strike the other blocks because they anticipated the attack.

So ultimately a fight between two skilled warriors is just a battle of attrition, slowly whittling away at each other's stamina until someone messes up, and typically all it takes is one good strike to end the fight. When it comes down to it, Arturia and Mordred are pretty balanced, Arturia has more skill as a swordsman, but Mordred is tougher and more durable. As they fight their pace picks up until their attacks start taking time to register in the game, which is causing problems for both of them. Eventually, after almost six minutes of fighting, Arturia suddenly attacks then feints, switching directions in a flash. Mordred responds with a block, seeing the attack coming at the last second, the two sticks clacking off of each other. But unfortunately for Mordred, her movement was so fast that the game couldn't register it in time, and even though she blocked the attack, it went through in the game, and her screen turns red, and in Arturia's vision, Mordred's character crumples to the ground.

"WHAT!?" Mordred yells, "No! No, bullshit! I blocked that!" She rips off her headset and looks at me, "You saw that right!?"

I shrug, Arturia takes her headset off, "It appeared to be a clean kill to me, Mordred." She smiles slightly.

"No! No it wasn't! I felt it! _You_ felt it! Again! Let's do it again!"

"If you wish." They put their headsets back on.

I sigh as I pull out the card and hand it to the lady, she swipes it on her tablet and hands it back to me. She inputs a few commands into the system and it resets. Arturia and Mordred go at it again, but this time Mordred is way more aggressive, hitting harder, grunting as she strikes, Arturia is just barely able to block and party her attacks but the sheer force of them makes her recoil, so she can't counter.

" _Mordred, calm down, you're gonna break something."_

" _Shut the fuck up Master! I'm gonna do this! I_ have _to do this! I have to…"_

Mordred lets out a cry of rage and strikes upward at Arturia, knocking her off balance and onto her butt. Mordred brings her sword up above her head and prepares to bring it down on her, but halfway down Arturia thrusts with her sword and she presses the tip into Mordred's chest. They stay just like that for a few seconds, both panting. I see flashes of memories, the two of them are on a hill made of corpses, in their armor, in almost the same position, Arturia running Mordred through with a spear.

Back in reality, Mordred drops her sword, her hands frozen above her head. Arturia removes the tip of her weapon from Mordred's body. Mordred steps back and Arturia gets up, Mordred hastily taking off all her gear.

Arturia takes off her headset and looks sadly at Mordred, who has a cold anger in her eyes. "Mordred…" Arturia starts.

"Shut up! Shut! Up!" Mordred screams, almost slamming her gear back on the table, and she storms off. Arturia goes to follow her but I stop her. I tell her to wait, and I go after Mordred. She power walks through the arcade, looking for somewhere to go, but not knowing anything about where she's at. She huffs and puffs, and eventually she just gives up and just collapses to the ground, pounding her fist on the floor silently.

I walk up to her and sit down in front of her, waiting. She's not sobbing, she's just breathing heavily, staring at the ground in front of her, but there's tears streaming down her face. After about a minute, she softly says, "I… all I ever wanted was to be as good as her. That's it. I felt like that was the only way I could be accepted, if I just beat her at something. Anything. I thought I was good enough to be her heir. But now, it's obvious that I'm not. I'm just a third-rate, good for nothing bastard child. I'm a disgrace, I failed at the one thing I was supposed to do. I'm sorry Master."

I think for a moment, a couple people walk by and ask if we're ok, I nod and wave them on. After a minute I chuckle and plop my hand down onto her head. "Dumbass." I say, she looks up at me, "This is what you're crying about now?" I smile, "You're not supposed to be as good as her, you're not supposed to be better than her. She disowned you because she didn't want you to turn into her, because she hated herself, she felt like a failure of a king just like you feel like a failure of a knight. She wants you to be your own person, not some carbon copy of her, no matter how perfect she might look to you. She just didn't tell you because she's a robot who can't express human emotions."

Mordred chuckles, "I just always thought she hated me. But… now, after spending more time with her, it's more obvious that she just sucks at everything other than being a king."

"Mhm, hey, do you remember the other day when you had that meltdown? Do you remember what she said to you?"

"Um… Yeah, something about her being more mad at Mother than me, and she said she actually was proud of me. But I know she was just saying that to try and make me feel better."

"Ok, and what did Lancer say to me just a few minutes ago?"

"What? Their Master is still recovering, and that Servants can't… oh… oh. Heh."

"Yeah, when you can finally get her to talk, she'll tell you what's on her mind, but she needs help in acting and thinking more like a regular human, so I'm gonna need your help to make her more human."

Mordred smiles at me, "Mmm." We stand up and make our way back over to where the gladiator game is. Mordred apologizes to the employee for her behavior and we go on our way. After a little bit Mordred stops me near a bench by some restrooms. "Hey uh, Master, can we hold up for a second? We've been walking around for a while and I wanna talk with Father just a bit."

"Yeah, sure, you two sit down and I'll go grab some drinks."

They walk over to the bench and start talking about something, I'm out of earshot before they start. I wander through the maze of games until I come across a bar. I walk up and inspect the drinks and the bartender comes up to me, "Afternoon, sir, whatcha want?"

"Afternoon, I'll take… two cans of Chu-Hi, and a… Tokyo Mule, that sounds good."

"Alright, I'll get that right out for you…" The bartender gives me two cans of Japanese beer and makes a cocktail from Soju. I pay for the drinks, handing the bartender my card. He swipes it and hands it back to me.

" _Master. We have a problem."_ Arturia's voice suddenly pops into my head. I freeze, my hand grasping the card, staring at nothing.

" _What's going on?"_

" _Someone is… Trying to court us, Master."_

I sigh. I've only been gone for like ten minutes, dammit. "Uh, you good?" The bartender says, still holding my card.

"Oh, uh, yeah, I just remembered I had to do something. Have a good night."

I take the drinks and head back to where Arturia and Mordred are. Once I get to them I see that there's a group of three guys crowding them, trying to pick them up. The guys look like your standard high schoolers, not really model students but not delinquents either, I'm sure that they saw my Servants sitting there and one of them got dared to ask them out, since both Arturia and Mordred look like they're around 16-20.

Once I get close enough I'm able to pick up their conversation over the noise and music of the place. "...A couple of hotties like you doing all by yourselves in a place like this?" One guy, closest to Arturia says.

"We are simply out looking to relax and have a good time." She responds.

"Oh, well in that case, I'm sure we could show you two girls a goo-"

"Fuck off." Mordred says curtly.

"Woah, easy babe, I'm just tryin to-"

"' _Babe!?'_ " Mordred's eyes flare dangerously. She wasn't in a good mood to begin with but now, being treated like some helpless schoolgirl, she's becoming homicidal.

I bump into the guys in a not very polite way and push my way through them, handing the cocktail to Arturia, "Here ya go, babe." And I hand one can of beer to Mordred. "And here's this for you."

"Hey, what the hell man? Who the fuck are you?" The kid, because that's what he is to me, probably no older than 18, says to me.

I wheel around, "Well I could ask you the same question, coming up on my girl like that."

"Your girl? Bullshit, you're like twice her age, you're like a pedo man, how about I tell security you're giving alcohol to a minor?"

I chuckle, this kid's got a pretty big mouth, probably because he's got his two buddies with him. Little do they know that Schellick just walked up and is watching this unfold about ten feet away, leaning on a game machine. "Okay, first off, thanks for saying my girlfriend looks young for her age. Second, I assure you that they are both well old enough to drink."

The kid steps up to me, his face just a few inches away from mine, I'm pretty sure he's on the tips of his toes since he's probably 5'8" or 9, so I've got a few inches on him, and he's the tallest one in his group. "Oh really? Let me see their ID then."

I say quietly, "Son, if you don't back up we're gonna have a problem."

He says just as quietly, "Yeah? Go ahead, my dad's a lawyer."

Ah yes, the old "my dad's a lawyer" threat. I smile, "Cool, I was a medic in the army."

He blinks, "W- what's that got to do with anything?"

"It means I can kick your ass and then sew it back together before the cops show up. I'm gonna give you one chance to fuck off right now."

"Pah, you really think you can take all three of us?"

"Maybe not by myself." I look at Schellick and nod my head.

Schellick steps up and puts his hands on the shoulders of the other two guys. "Want me to crack some heads boss?" He says with a grin. One good thing about having Schellick here is his size. I myself am tall and slim but toned, at six feet and 180 pounds, it's obvious that I work out, and I was hoping that I would be enough to intimidate these kids but I guess not. Schellick stands at about 6'4" or 6'5" and is a diehard gym rat, even while we've been here he's found a way to work out almost every day, usually waking up super early, working out for an hour, then going back to sleep for a few more hours. So he is very tall even for an American, and has the physique of your average Navy SEAL.

"Nah, hold on." I tell him, I look back down at the kid. "I'm gonna give you one more chance. Go. The fuck. Away."

"Hey dude, why are you so…" the kid looks to his left, "The hell?" I look to my right, there's nothing there, I look back to the kid and my vision goes white for a second as his fist connects with my face. I keep my eyes closed, head turned to the side, gritting my teeth from the pain. I hear scuffling as if people are wrestling. The kid had a decent amount of power with that punch, but no technique, so all it really did was hurt.

When I open my eyes again, I see that Arturia and Schellick have two of the guys pinned to the ground, and Mordred is holding the guy who punched me up by his shirt collar against a machine. His legs are off the ground, he's staring at her in terror, she's staring at him with hate. "You touch me, Father, or Master again and I'll rip your damn arms off, you got that!?" She growls at him.

He nods and stammers out that he's sorry, completely believing her since she's holding him in the air with ease. I saunter up to him, "Mordred, let him down, but don't let go of him." She does so. The kid looks at me. I look around, there's no one else to see this, thank God. I turn back to the kid, "I gave you…" I hold up two fingers slowly, and mutter my activation word for my pyromancy, the tips of my fingers have small flames like those from a lighter coming out of them, and my eyes once again glow red-white. "Two chances to leave us alone." The kid yells in fear and starts whimpering. "Now do you see why I wanted you to just go away?"

He nods, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please, please let me go!"

"Well, now that you've seen me like this, I'm gonna have to kill you."

"No! No please! I'm sorry, I didn't see anything I swear! No please no! I'll forget about you! Please don't hurt me!" The kid starts babbling and crying.

I stop my magic. "I'm just kidding, but if you do tell anyone about this, I will find you, and I will burn you alive. Do you understand?"

"Yes! Yes sir! I-I-I swear I w-won't tell a soul! Please j-just let me go!"

"Alright, let him go." Mordred obeys me, and he and his friends take off. "Well, that was fun." I say, we gather our things, find Minaki, and we all head back to the car.

…

We are driving back to the house, I'm playing some Sabaton, driving along the river. "Midway, displacing their mind, ordering carriers, admirals at war, we'll meet at Midway, to win the fi-"

"Master, stop!" Arturia suddenly yells.

I slam on the brakes, Arturia and Mordred jump out of the car and run to the bank of the river. Everyone else gets out and follows them. Once we get close to the shore, we can see Caster standing on top of the water in the middle of the river. "Caster… What the fuck is he doing?" I mutter. He's holding his spell tome open and there's a thick purple magical energy seeping from it like pus.

"He must be preparing some kind of powerful magic, based upon the high amount of mana being used." Arturia suggests.

"A Noble Phantasm?" Mordred asks.

"Most likely."

As we watch, Caster opens his eyes and turns to us, "Welcome, my holy virgin. I am thrilled to see you again."

"What are you trying tonight, monster!?" Arturia calls out to him.

"My apologies, Jeanne, you are not tonight's guest of honor. Of course, if you would like to watch the festivities, it would please me to no end. I, Gilles de Rais, have prepared a feast of death and decadence, where all may eat their fill!"

"This dude just loves to fuckin' talk." I say. Tentacles sprout out of the water and surround him, almost engulfing him. "Once more we set out to raise salvation's banner!" A large maw rises from the water, and engulfs him, then a creature that almost defies description continues to erupt from the surface of the river. "You who have been abandoned, gather once more! I shall lead you, I shall control you! We have been degraded and humiliated, and God himself will know our fury!"

This thing is massive, it's like a giant pillar, some great eldritch horror straight from the nightmares of the insane. It's probably over a thousand feet tall and at least a hundred feet across, with large tentacles sprouting out of the water near it. It's mouth adorned with horns or fangs or something. "Holy fuck." I say slowly, almost in awe.

"O God in Heaven!" Caster's voice echoes throughout the land, "I praise your name even as I denounce it! Insolent God, Cruel God! We shall drag you down from your throne!"

"How… in the hell… are we supposed to-" I start, but am interrupted as we hear crashes of lightning to our side. We look and see the Riders on Iskandar's chariot, they stop next to us and Astolfo jumps off.

"Greetings, Sabers!" Iskandar says. My Servants step between me and the Riders, materializing their swords. Myself and my teammates draw our sidearms. "Woah, take it easy. Let's call a truce for tonight. There's no possibility of us having a fair fight while that thing exists. I've said as much to the other Servants. The Lancers have agreed, they are on the way."

My Servants look at each other, then at me. I nod. "Very well. We shall fight by your side for tonight." Arturia says.

"Hey, Saber's Master, do you guys have a plan?" Waver asks me.

I laugh. "You think I have a plan for _that_?" I point behind me.

"Lancer said you fought Caster before, do you know any weaknesses?"

"Well, we need to destroy that thing as quick as possible. It'll get a lot of unneeded attention and cause a fuckton of damage if we don't kill Caster right now. As far as we know, all of his magic is tied to that grimoire he has. If we can damage or destroy it, that should get rid of that Cthulhu looking thing."

"But Caster's inside the core of that thing, how do we attack him?" Astolfo asks.

" _We force him out._ " Diarmuid's voice says as both he and Lancer Arturia materialize in their armor, Arturia on her horse. "If we can expose his Noble Phantasm, my Gae Dearg can break the spell in one strike."

"Would you be able to hit it if you threw your spear from the shore?" My Arturia asks him.

He smirks, "If I can see it, it is simple."

"Then Rider and I shall meet it headlong. How sounds that to you, King of Conquerors?"

"Fine by me. My chariot can travel anywhere, with or without a road. But how will you attack, Saber?"

"I have the blessing of the Lady of the Lake. No water can impede my movement."

"Ooh, that's quite a unique skill, I want you for my army even more."

"You will pay for that line later, for now, we must rip Caster from that monster."

"Haha! Indeed. Very well then, I shall strike first!" Iskandar flicks his reigns and speeds off into the air, bringing his Master with him. Arturia summons her armor and takes off as well, running on the water towards the monster.

"Stay safe!" I yell after her. She is quickly joined by the Lancer Arturia, her horse galloping across the water as if it were grass.

"I shall position myself and wait to strike." Diarmuid says and disappears.

"Well, guess I'll go help them." Astolfo says. He stretches and puts his fingers in his mouth and gives a high pitched whistle. Nothing happens for a few seconds.

"What'd you just do?" I ask.

"Uh… I called my ride… I am a Rider after all. But um… He should be here." He starts looking up and around, "Sometimes it takes a minute."

"Alright then, I'll leave you to it. Mordred, let's go. You see that crane over there?" I point to a large crane on the edge of the street maybe 400 meters away. "Let's get up there and watch."

We go back to the car, and start putting our gear on. I hear a loud screeching sound, like some kind of large bird, and I look up, and some mythical beast, with the body of a horse but an eagles head, flies over us and lands next to Astolfo. He gets on it and pats it. "You have a fucking griffon?" I say incredulously, I don't know why it's so surprising given all the other stuff I've seen recently.

"It's a hippogriff!" He calls out to me as he flies away into the fight. We continue getting our stuff on and we head over to the crane, climbing it. Once we're on top we can see the whole river, the bridge maybe half a mile away, and a good chunk of the city. We watch the fight unfold, all of the Servants doing what they can to damage the creature, but whenever they strike a tentacle or part of the body it just regenerates, almost instantly.

"Shit, this plan may not work." I muse, thinking of another strategy while I watch the fight. The Riders buzzing around the creature like flies, striking at it, and the Arturias on the ground attempting to get as close as they can.

"This is pissing me off. I can't do anything, Master." Mordred grumbles.

"Calm down. If they can't stop this thing we may need you to jump in there." I pull out my binoculars and look in closer detail. After a minute, four streaks of gold rain down on the creature from above. "The hell?" I look up, and through my bino's I can see some weird aircraft floating almost twice as high up as the creature is tall. I can't tell if anyone's on it, but there's a small gold circle of light I can see from here, so that must be Gilgamesh.

Slowly a large amount of pink-purple fog begins covering the river, which is good, since people are starting to crowd around the river to see what's going on, and it's obscuring their vision. I'm high enough up that I can still see it, but it's hard to pick out the Servants when they dip down into the fog. I hear a roaring sound in the distance, and I look up.

"Fuck." There's two fighter jets circling the river. "This is getting out of control. Arturia, we need to kill this thing."

" _I'm trying, Master."_

I know. She's trying her best, but it may not be enough. From the looks of it the only way to stop this would be to obliterate it all in one go. One of the jets drops down either to engage or just look at the monster, and multiple tentacles shoot out of the monster, snatching it out of the air and pulling it into the core of the beast. "God damn."

The other jet dips down toward the creature shortly after, and Mordred suddenly says, "Berserker?"

"What? What're they doing?"

"It's just the knight. He's… on the jet."

As she says this, I look at the jet, it's now engulfed in the same red lines that coat anything the black knight touches, and I can kinda see his frame on top of it. "Oh… great." The jet turns away from the monster and heads for Gilgamesh's ship. He fires some of his weapons at it, it fires missiles at him, and they take off into the clouds to have a dogfight.

Back on the ground, the Riders' mounts become trapped by the tendrils, and the Arturias cut them apart to free them. "Boss, I think I found him." Minaki suddenly says. She set up her rifle and has been scanning the crowds.

"What? Found who?"

"Red hair, purple jacket, insane?"

"You see Caster's Master!?"

"Yeah. He's on the shore, screaming his head off, he looks super happy. People are looking at him weird, want me to take him?"

I get down next to her, and look with my binoculars until I find him. Sure enough, he's dancing around all giddy. "...No." Minaki looks at me, "I want to kill this fucker." I finish. Minaki hands me the rifle and takes the binoculars, and I look through the scope. "Alright. What adjustments do I need to make?"

"You see the number on the side of the sight? That's the rangefinder, what's it say?"

"About 740."

"Ok… you see those dash marks on the vertical crosshair? Go up about two and a half."

I make the adjustments, and wait. Once the guy stands still for a second, I squeeze the trigger.

Crack.

The weapon has a little more recoil than I was expecting, so I lose sight of him for a second. I pull the bolt back and load another round, then look through the sight again. Once I re-acquire him, he's sitting on the ground, everyone's stepped away from him. He's holding his gut, blood staining his clothes and the ground. Dammit, I misjudged, I was aiming for his head. "Master, the creature stopped." Mordred says. I barely register her words. So if I was aiming there and the bullet went there, then I just need to go up, right… there. I steady myself.

Crack.

This time I'm ready for the recoil, so I'm able to watch as, about ¾ of a second after my shot, his head snaps back with a spray of blood and brain tissue, and his body flops to the ground, lifeless. I watch for a second. Nothing. "See you in Hell you psycho." I mumble. I give Minaki her rifle back and get up.

The monster starts moving again, now more fearsome than ever. It's all the Servants can do to not get killed. The Arturias continue cutting their way towards the creature, and they end up being grabbed by several small tentacles, resisting with all their might but to no avail. Their arms and legs spread out as if they were about to be drawn and quartered, they are at the mercy of this creature. "Ah dammit." I sigh.

"I've seen enough hentai to know where this is going." Schellick chuckles with morbid humor. I chuckle a little too, in spite of myself. Suddenly, several dozen streaks of red cut through the tendrils holding the Servants, and explosions rock the body of the monster. I follow the path of the shots to the bridge and look through my binoculars. Standing on top of the bridge is the red Archer, bow raised, and beside him is Diarmuid, his spears resting on his shoulders. Archer looks at me and gives a small wave. I return it.

" _Master, we've decided to retreat for now, we are getting nowhere."_

" _Alright, let's all meet at the base of this crane that I'm at."_

We descend the crane, and all the Servants eventually meet once more.

Iskandar states, "As we are at a stalemate with this thing, we need to devise a new strategy. I will leave that up to you all, I will buy you time by containing the creature within my reality marble. Sadly, I do not believe that even the might of my armies could kill this thing, I will only be able to contain it for a few minutes. During that time, I trust that you will come up with a way to destroy that monster. Astolfo, boy, you two will stay here. I hope to see you all soon!" He dumps Waver off the chariot, saying, "Boy, when my reality marble is activated, I do not know what transpires on the outside. Should you need me, focus hard and call for me. I shall send a messenger." Waver nods, and Iskandar takes off.

After a minute, Waver says, "Any ideas? He said he'd buy us time, but if we can't come up with a plan we're back to square one."

"No shit." Schellick says.

I think for a moment, "Arturia…" I look at the Lancer, "What does Rhongomyniad do?"

Both the Arturias share a glance, and after a moment, she says, "If you are hoping it could destroy the creature, I'm sorry, but it would not work. It is a divine pillar that holds up the mantle of the earth. To use its power would be catastrophic, even if I activated it with only a hundredth of its potential, it would destroy everything within a five kilometer radius of the point of impact."

"Hmm, never mind then. We need something that can completely wipe out that thing in one blow, erase it completely from existence so that it can't regenerate…" I trail off for a second, and look around. "Waver, I have a question. Can Iskandar choose where he and others exit the reality marble?"

"...To a degree, it's accurate to about a hundred meters. But if I could tell him where to exit he'd be pretty accurate, I would think."

"Ok, get ahold of him and tell him to release the creature about five hundred meters to the south of the bridge."

Waver nods, and focuses his thoughts. A second later, one of Iskandar's soldiers materializes in front of him, and he relays the message. "Now, we just need a bomb." I say. I look at Arturia and Mordred. Mordred's Noble Phantasm might work, but it's anti-army, so it may not work well against one large big creature. Arturia's is the last bet, as an anti-fortress, it might work, but… I look at Diarmuid. "Lancer, I just remembered, I have something for you." He looks at me, confused.

I walk up to him and put my hand in my pocket, and pull it back out, closed. I have him hold out his hand and he does. I place my hand on his for a second, then bring my hand up and jab a punch into his jaw. He recoils and holds his mouth, "Master, what are you doing?" Arturia says.

"That's for hurting my Servant and fucking everything up." I say. Everyone's too surprised to move.

"I don't understand." Diarmuid says as he recovers.

I point at Arturia. "Saber has an anti-fortress Noble Phantasm, but it requires the use of her left hand, the hand you cursed during your first fight. So now, our only real hope is gone since she can't use that hand."

Everyone looks at Arturia, "It's true, Excalibur could destroy that creature in one strike. But, Lancer, the weight of my sword is the weight of my pride. This wound is an honor, not a burden. It is a price I will pay for your assistance."

Diarmuid smiles, "Saber, I too wish to kill Caster. I cannot allow the justification of his crimes through selfish pride." He plants his red spear in the ground and holds his other spear as if to snap it like a twig.

"Lancer, no!" Arturia steps forward.

"Who must win our fight? Lancer? Saber? No, what must truly win is the code of chivalry we both swore to uphold." He snaps the spear, a gust of greenish yellow light bursts out, and his spear disappears. "I will put my trust in you, Saber."

I take hold of Arturia's left hand, "Sana vulnera." A bluish white glow emanates from her arm.

She holds her gauntleted hand up and flexes her fingers and thumb. "I swear by my sword, I swear to you Lancer. I shall win this fight." She raises her invisible sword above her head and reveals its full true golden shining glory.

A moment passes, and we all notice that Berserker is flying near us. "Astolfo, do you think you could take care of him?" Waver says.

"Yep! Leave it to me, Master!" He jumps onto his hippogriff and takes off, engaging the jet. We watch as they weave around each other, trying to be the one to get into a position to attack. Eventually Astolfo gains the upper hand and is able to run his lance through the jet, splitting it in half. Berserker falls, and while still in the air he is hit by several weapons from Gilgamesh, who is now standing on top of the bridge, and the knight plunges, screaming, into the water. During this whole encounter Arturia runs across the surface of the water, to stand about a hundred feet in front of the bridge.

I tell Waver, "When you hear me shoot, tell Iskandar to release the monster." Mordred and I run to the bridge.

 _"Hey Father, I want to let you know that I feel sick right now."_ Mordred and Arturia figures out recently that they can communicate with each other through me.

 _"Why is that, Mordred?"_

 _"Your little moment with Lancer, it was super cringey. I got nauseous from secondhand embarrassment."_

 _"Cringey?"_

 _"Yeah, all that blabbing about honor and chivalry, I was embarrassed for you, Father. None of that stuff is cool anymore."_

 _"Heh, you never change, do you Mordred?"_

 _"Nope, neither do you, Father."_

We get up to the bridge, I have her stand on the edge of the walk path, and I grapple up to the top beams, standing near Gilgamesh. I pull out my M9 and fire three shots into the air. A few seconds later, the monster re-appears roughly where we wanted it, still in the river, on the other side of the bridge with nothing to get in the way of our attacks. I cross my arms, _"Arturia… Do it."_

 _"Understood, Master."_ She raises her sword above her head, small specks of gold gathering at her blade.

"Now, show me, Saber. Show me the true worth of your spirit, that I may appraise it." Gilgamesh says to himself. I look at him out of the corner of my eye. Weirdo.

 _"Mordred, do yours too."_

 _"Heh, you got it, Master."_ I hear metallic clinks beneath me as Mordred removes her helmet. More small orbs of light converge on Arturia from all around, and small flashes of red lightning emanate from Mordred.

 _"Sheathed in the breath of the planet,"_

 _"This is the sword-"_

 _"a torrent of shining life."_

 _"that destroyed my father."_

 _"Feel it's wrath."_

 _"Feel it's wrath!"_

"Ex…"

"Clarent…"

"CALIBUR!"

"BLOOD ARTHUR!"

From Arturia, a massive beam of raw golden magical energy erupts from her sword, shooting towards the monster. From Mordred, a similar line of red magic and lightning shoots out from her weapon, and both attacks hit the monster at about the same time. Water is pushed aside and evaporated, and a column of red-yellow light erupts into the sky from the spot that the monster stood. The shores of the river overflow from all the displaced water, and a massive gale of wind whips toward us, causing me to stagger back a step, all loose straps and clothing fluttering violently.

The light and energy fades after a moment, leaving absolutely nothing. I'm hit with a massive wave of fatigue, using my suit to stay stable. Right now I could probably sleep for a day or two. _"Holy shit. Great fucking job you two."_

 _"Mmm."_

I'm suddenly reminded of the sheer amount of responsibility I have as a Master. The raw destructive potential of just a single Servant is beyond even the imagination of most people. Just the backlash from them fighting each other can cause millions in property damage. One Servant using their Noble Phantasm can destroy a city. If they want to, one can take over a country, and if they all joined together they could destroy the world.

Beside me, Gilgamesh smirks. "Were you watching, King of Conquerors? That was her power, would you still claim her unworthy, having witnessed her brilliance?"

"Hey uh, boss, Minaki's clocked out, is she gonna be ok?" Schellick says into my earpiece.

"Mhm, just let her rest."

"Hmm. That light comes from her having taken the hopes and dreams of her people onto her own shoulders." Iskandar says behind us, sitting on one of the beams. "It was so dazzling it hurt to watch, and then there's the fact that she who bears this burden is but a little girl. A girl who gave up her childhood, never knew love, and was cursed by her ideals. It is painful to see."

I turn to him, "I think I finally realize the difference between you and me, Rider. You see something that's broken and you just throw it away." I turn back to look at Arturia, still standing on the water, "I do everything I can to fix it."

"A noble goal, Master of Saber, but be wary, some things are too broken to be fixed."

"...Which is why she is so desirable, no?" Gilgamesh speaks up again, "She embraced dreams that were too much for her, and in the end, they overwhelmed and destroyed her. The tears of regret she must have shed in her final moments… I can only imagine how sweet they must have tasted."

"Okay, what the fuck?" I look at him, that's a pretty fucked up thing to say about someone.

"Ho? Do you dispute my tastes? If you think you are better, then draw your weapons, show me your power."

"I'd rather not. I'm pretty tired, and I'm sure everyone else is too." I say.

"Indeed, I have spent much of my energy this night, I would like to retreat, unless that would offend you, King of Heroes." Iskandar says.

"I do not mind, you have my permission to withdraw, it would be boring to destroy you at anything less than full strength."

"Haha! And I expect you yourself have sustained injury from our friend in black, no?" Iskandar says.

"Taunting me is tantamount to death." Gilgamesh warns.

"You're gonna try and kill us no matter what anyways." I say.

"Hmm. Perhaps…" Gilgamesh turns back to look at Arturia, "The fool who longs for dreams beyond the providence of man, only one in creation is allowed to love her in her ruin, and that is I, Gilgamesh."

"Heh, get in line." I chuckle. Gilgamesh looks at me curiously, "You love her now, you ain't even had sex with her." I pull out my phone and show it to him, my background is the picture I took of when she and I were in bed together after our first fight. "But I have." I smirk as I drop down, Gilgamesh opening his mouth to speak but nothing comes out, Iskandar's laughter echoing through the night as I collect my Servants and head to the car.

…

We get out of the car, Schellick carrying Minaki into the house, my Servants and I supporting each other. We get inside and I let Arturia and Mordred go, and help Schellick get Minaki's gear off. Once that's done and she's in her underwear, Schellick carries her the rest of the way to their room. I go to my room and undress in the near pitch black darkness. Once I'm in my underwear I fall face first onto my bed, and I'm suddenly laying on top of Mordred.

"Mmmph" She groans when I fall on her, and I roll off of her hastily, confused, and smack my head against Arturia's.

"Nng. My apologies, Master." She says weakly, half-asleep.

"What the fuck are you two doing?"

"We used more mana tonight than we ever did before, so we're sleeping with you tonight to recharge faster." Mordred grumbles.

I settle into a spot between them, and they both snuggle up to me, pressing their petite bodies as close to me as they can. I stare at the ceiling, listening to their soft breathing, enjoying their warmth as I quickly fall asleep. Before I completely fall asleep, I think about how I'm glad that they didn't ask to do another mana transfer, I don't think that I could handle that. Well, maybe if Arturia rides me and Mordred sits on my face I could-

I feel a hand roughly pat me on the face a few times. "Stop it, Mastah." Mordred mumbles. I chuckle as I fall into dreamland.

 **Author's note: This is, obviously, a work in progress, and I am currently working on future chapters and will publish them as soon as possible, but because of my current job it can be difficult to take the time to sit down and write. I would like to thank everyone for their patience as you go on this journey with me.**


	14. Chapter 14

I have more dreams made up of flashbacks of Arturia's and Mordred's lives. Arturia observing as knights attempt to prove themselves worthy of joining the round table, Mordred killing soldiers belonging to enemy kingdoms, Arturia walking away after a Mordred reveals herself to her father, their confrontation at Camlann. I wake up, staring at the ceiling.

Arturia and Mordred are still asleep, both of them using me as a body pillow. They're almost mirroring each other, their heads next to mine on the pillow, one hand wrapped around my upper arm with the other resting on my chest. Arturia has the stuffed lion she got in one hand and the other is resting on top of Mordred's on my chest, their fingers interlocked. It's absolutely fucking adorable. I lay awake, finding comfort in the slightly tingly feeling of their breath against my cheeks and ears.

After what feels like an hour of dozing and nearly falling back asleep, Mordred finally stirs and awakens, I turn to look at her, she looks at me for a moment, and once she realizes the position she's in she lets me go and scoots a few inches away. "Uh… M-morning Master, sorry about that."

"It's fine, I'm not complaining." Even though I can barely feel my arms. Arturia awakens and sits up. Both of them are still fully clothed. "How are you guys feeling?" I ask.

"I'm still feeling slightly drained." Arturia says, "It will take some time to completely recover after using that much mana."

"Same." Mordred says, "Hey Master, how come you weren't as tired last night as you were at the shipyard? We used a lot more mana last night."

"I was wondering that too. I think it's because I myself didn't use any magic. The other time I used a few spells that drained me quite a bit, and now I'm more used to using magic. It's kinda like using muscles, the more you practice and the more you use it, the stronger you get. Also, it seems that Minaki took the brunt of the cost for your Noble Phantasms, since she just dropped as soon as you used them." Minaki also isn't amazing as a mage, she only found out that she was one about a month or two before I did. She doesn't do a whole lot with it, she knows the minor mana transfer ritual, and enhancement magic, but that's really it. She doesn't practice it rigorously like I do, so she's more of a supplementary mana tank for me, so that the burden of mana isn't solely on my also relatively meager reservoir.

I get dressed and we go out into the main room.

Schellick and Minaki are up already, sitting on the couches. I go into the kitchen to make some breakfast, my Servants sitting at the table, "How you feeling Minaki?" I call out through the window.

"Hungover as fuck." She says. "I don't think I'll be good to go for a little while."

"That's fine, from the looks of it, no one's at 100% right now. Since our day of fun and rest got cut a little short, I think we should just stay in today." I check my phone for a second, oh damn, it's 1045 already? "And it looks like it's supposed to rain for the next couple days, so yeah, I say we just veg out today."

"Sounds like a plan." Schellick says.

"Thanks, boss." Minaki lays back on the couch to sleep some more.

I make some eggs on toast with bacon for myself and my Servants, after we eat we join my teammates on the ouch to rot our brains with some tv.

…

We spend almost all day on the couch. We only get up to use the bathroom or get food to snack on. After lunch we get tired of watching the news, and for the sake of Schellick we get Hulu in English to watch some shows we all recognize. After dinner I'm scrolling through shows and movies to watch and I find the greatest movie of all time: Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I smile and look at my Servants, whom I'm sitting between on the couch. "What is that, Master?" Arturia asks.

"Oh, we'll need to watch it and find out." I grin wider.

Schellick looks up from his phone. "Oh. Oh! Haha! Yes! Yes, we need to watch that, especially with them!" Even Minaki is smoking and chuckling.

I play the movie and look say, "It's a comedy, don't take it too seriously."

"What's this movie about, Master?" Mordred asks.

"You'll find out. I think you two will enjoy it."

…

"Why are they faking the horse?"

"Shh, Mordred, it's rude to speak during a performance."

"Halt! Who goes there?"

"It is I, Arthur, son of Uther Pendragon, from the castle of Camelot."

"Whaaat!? They made a movie about you, Father!"

"I… Yes, it appears so…"

…

"Be quiet, I order you to be quiet!"

"'Order'? Who does he think he is?"

"I am your king!"

"Well I didn't vote for you."

"You don't vote for kings."

"Such disrespect." Arturia mutters.

"Hahaha! Well they got one thing right so far." Mordred says.

…

"Victory is mine."

"'Tis but a scratch."

"A scratch!? Your arm's off!"

"...I've had worse."

*uproarious laughter from Mordred.*

I look at Arturia, she has a hand covering her mouth and she's shaking holding in laughter.

…

*Scene in which Lancelot repeats running up to the castle and kills a bunch of people inside.*

"Ahahahaha! That's Lancelot for you, that's probably the most accurate depiction of one of us yet."

"Mordred, Lancelot may have been strong and fierce, but he was not that brutish. You're equating him to the Berserker knight."

"Eh, I guess, but out of all the knights he's probably the one most likely to be a Berserker."

"And not you?" Arturia smiles slyly.

"Hey!"

…

"Who are you?"

"We are the knights who say… 'Ni!'"

"Oh! So that's where that's from! I remember that!"

Oh shit, I almost forgot about that, when I made that joke on the plane over here. I'm surprised they remembered.

…

"I'm an enchanter."

"By what name are you known?"

"There are some who call me…"

"Merlin!" Mordred bursts out.

"...Tim."

"Oh."

I snort in laughter. At this point I'm not sure if the movie is funnier or if my Servants reactions are funnier.

…

"Look at the bones!"

"Go on Bors, chop it's head off."

"Yeah, Sir Bors!"

"Right sir! One rabbit stew comin right up!"

*Sir Bors gets fucked up*

"Jesus Christ!"

"What the hell!?"

"Nooo!" My Servants have looks of horror on their faces.

"I warned you."

…

"Run away! Run away! Alright, who'd we lose? Gawain, Ector, and Bors, that's five!"

"Three my Lord"

"Three, three."

"No, Gawain and Ector too!? Why'd they have to die in such a stupid way?"

…

"One, two, five!"

"Three, my Lord!"

"Three!"

*rabbit blows up.*

"...I can count to three." Arturia mumbles with a pouty face, a little upset at being portrayed as stupid. I was taking a drink of soda and I almost choke on it. Mordred busts out laughing yet again.

…

"What is your name?"

"Sir Robin of Camelot."

"What is your quest?"

"To seek the Holy Grail."

"What… is the capital of Assyria?"

"What? I don't know thaAAAAAaaah!"

"...Wait… What?" Arturia is dumbfounded.

"What is your name?"

"Sir Galahad of Camelot."

"What is your quest?"

"I seek the Grail."

"What is your favorite color?"

"Blue… No, yelloOOOOOOOoooooow!"

"Why is everyone dying!?"

"What is your name?"

"It is Arthur, King of the Britons."

"What is your quest?"

"I seek the Holy Grail!"

"What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?"

"Well are we talking about an African swallow or a European swallow?"

"What? I don't know that- AAAAAaaaah!"

"...How do you know so much about swallows, sir?"

"Well you have to know these things when you're king, Bedivere."

My Servants just about die laughing.

…

"Wait… wait no! It's over? No battle? No nothing!?" Mordred yells.

"Yep."

"Are you kidding? That's stupid!"

"That was… much more entertaining than I was expecting at first." Arturia says.

"Mhm, sometimes it's fun to laugh at yourself a little."

"...For some reason, I'm reminded of when Merlin cast that one spell on me." Arturia says.

"What spell?" Mordred asks.

"The one where he turned me into a man."

"Wait, a man!?" Schellick asks incredulously. Oh yeah, he never heard that story.

"Yes… But I got better." Arturia smiles. It takes me a second to get the reference, and when I do I'm literally rofl'ing. I'm pretty sure that's the first time I've heard Arturia make an actual joke.

After we've recovered from laughing so much, it's around nine or ten at night, so I decide to turn in for the night, as does Schellick. Minaki and my Servants stay up to keep watching movies. I'm a little concerned about my Servants, the fact that they don't need to eat or sleep means they can just keep watching. I may have just introduced them to a new addiction.

…

I lay my head down on my pillow and close my eyes for what feels like a minute. I slip into dreamland, and have some weird dream where I'm working at a gas station with some guy I knew from high school and then in walks Robert Downey Jr and he says

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

I'm defibrillated awake and I jump up at the sounds of the girls screaming. I know it's not part of the dream because the screams last for about a second after I'm out of bed. I grab my M4, not realizing that it's not loaded, throw open my door, and I rush into the main room, pointing the rifle at anything that even somewhat resembles a possible threat. About half a second later, Schellick almost breaks his door getting it open and he does the same thing I do but with his shotgun.

"What!? What? What the fuck!? The fuck's going on!?" We both scream as we go out, expecting all the other Servants to be standing there or something. All the lights are off, the only illumination coming from the tv, sounds of screams and demonic noises coming from it. The girls are on the couch, huddled together and holding each other as if terrified. They're looking at me and Schellick. We're both panting from adrenaline, he has on a pair of basketball shorts and I'm just wearing boxer briefs.

Once we realize there's no immediate threat we put our weapons down. "What the FUCK!?" I yell, pissed off. I look at the tv, it's playing some Japanese horror movie about the ghost of a girl with long hair over her face and a white nightgown murdering people. The girls start giggling and laughing at us. "Don't… don't scream like that!" I scold them.

Schellick goes back into his room. "Sorry Master, Sorry Mr. Anthony." Arturia says.

"I wish I recorded that." Minaki says with a giggle.

"Shut the fuck up, go to sleep." I say irritably as I go back into my room, and get back into bed, checking the time on my phone, it's been about three and a half hours since I went to bed. I fall back asleep after maybe 30 minutes of trying to calm down.

…

I wake up again and get out of bed around 09, making myself a quick breakfast. I start thinking of what I want to do for the day. I pull out my phone and think about what needs done. After a full day I'm sure most other Masters and Servants are back up to full strength, so we're gonna resume nightly patrols tonight. We're getting low on food at the house, so I'll have Minaki go get groceries this afternoon, and the rest of us can spar and practice and workout while she does that, in order to stay on top physically.

I look at my hand, the command seals with certain parts faded out still prominent as always. Oh yeah, the church said that they'd give a command seal to whoever could kill Caster. I'll go with Minaki to get that on our way back from getting groceries.

I enter all of our to-do's in my phone, then I go into the FaceTime app. I call my mom's phone. I've wanted to do this for a while, but with everything that's gone on, it's been low on my priority list. My parents are taking care of Violet while I'm here. I told them that I'm on a business trip, not entirely sure of when exactly I'd be back.

"Hi Jacob!" My mom's face fills my screen.

"Who is that, Master?" Mordred calls from the couch. I motion for her to stay quiet.

"How are things going in… what was it called, Rob?"

"Fuyuki, I think." My dad's voice comes over the call, but he's out of frame.

"Things are… alright, I guess."

"Yeah, things sound pretty bad there." My mom says.

"What'd you hear about?"

"Oh, well, the city's getting international attention right now, having a shipyard and hotel explosion a day apart, all those kids going missing then found dead. Weird sightings of UFO's and monsters and things like that." She says.

"Oh yeah." I say, getting slightly nervous.

"So What are you there for?" My dad asks, my mom turning her phone so that they're both in frame.

"Just a… business meeting, working and training with the Japanese version of the NSA."

"Do you know anything about all that stuff going on?" My mom asks.

"Knowing him, he's probably the cause of all of it." My dad jokes.

"True, wherever you go there seems to be a story following you."

"Hahaha, yeah, no. I can't say too much because I don't know too much, but I can say that there's a possibility that I'm working on figuring all this stuff out. But seriously, they're thinking that the explosions were from some kind of war between yakuza factions in the city, trying to destroy merchandise and whatnot. Also those kids going missing is, well, the work of a serial killer, most likely unrelated to anything. But there's unconfirmed reports that some vigilante killed them. Obviously that's all speculation so don't go repeating it please."

"Oh yeah, we know by now, all the things you and Justin wish you could tell us but can't." My mom says.

"You don't know the half of it. So anyways, where's-"

"Grandma, who's on the phone?"

"It's your dad."

"Daddy!" My Mom's phone is ripped out of her hand and my daughter's face is all I can see. She's sitting on my mom's lap.

"Hey, baby." I say to her, almost choking up. I turn away for a second and blink away tears. Normally I wouldn't be so dramatic about talking to my daughter, but after not seeing her for almost two months, and dealing with that serial killer, it's so relieving to see her safe and happy.

"You ok, dad?"

"Yeah, it's just good to know you're ok. So, has anything exciting happened since I've been gone?"

"Mmm… not really, I guess the coolest thing right now is Mrs. Edinburg is teaching us a lot about old fairy tales."

"Really? What kind of fairy tales?"

"Um… yesterday we learned about ones from England."

"Which ones? England has quite a few."

"Um… she started with Beowulf, the oldest one, where a guy called Beowulf slays a bunch of monsters and becomes a king. Then she talked about the legend of King Arthur. That was weird."

"How was it weird?"

"Well, it starts off with Arthur pulling the sword from the stone, and by that he's king, which doesn't make any sense." I chuckle, thinking back to the movie we watched last night. Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for legitimate government. "And then later, Arthur has a kid with his sister called Mordred, and then Mordred kills Arthur and takes his wife, a lady named Gui- uh… gu- guin… something with a g, for himself. And that's really gross."

"WHAT? That's not how I remember it!" Mordred suddenly bursts out from across the room. She and Arturia have a look of disgust on their faces.

I'm trying not to laugh too much right now. "Who was that just now?" My mom asks.

"Oh just one of the people I'm here with."

"Oh, could you introduce us?"

"Sure." I get up and walk over to the couches. I put Schellick and Minaki on the screen with me. "This is Anthony and Veronica. They're two people who work with me."

"What do you guys do?"

"We're accountants." Schellick says.

"Oh." My dad laughs awkwardly in the way he usually does when he's not sure what to say.

"Yeah, but I used to be intelligence, and Minaki was a sniper, which is why we were chosen for this." Schellick explains.

"We're just training local counter-terrorist units." Minaki says.

"Yeah, remember when I was in Hawaii and we would go to Australia and Korea and train with them? It's kinda the same concept."

"Oh ok." My parents say.

"And this is Arturia." I show my parents Arturia. She smiles.

"She's pretty. She looks like mommy." Violet says.

"Oh yeah, you're right." My mom says. "O-Oh, I'm sorry, does she know about-"

"Yes, yes, she knows, I told her." I say, looking at Arturia. It is pretty uncanny how much she, and especially her Lancer self, looks like Lilly. Maybe that's part of the reason I fell for her.

"Mhm, I am also an accountant, my main task is to examine the budget of the local police force to determine if funds are being allocated effectively."

"Wow, she speaks really fancy." I hear my dad say quietly.

"Are you British? I definitely heard an English accent there." My mom says.

"Um… Y-yes, I am originally from Britain."

"I thought so."

"Yep…" I turn the phone to Mordred. "And this is…" I stop, realizing that things might get really weird if I say Mordred, but I can't think of a good cover name, and I don't know if she's socially apt enough to go with it. It's been about a second so now it'll be suspicious if I say something off. I chuckle, "Uh, crap. Do you mind if I tell them?"

Mordred shakes her head, "Go ahead, I'm used to it by now."

"Ok, um, this is… Mordred."

"Mordred!?" My daughter's eyes light up. "You mean like from the legend?"

"Uh… Yep. She is Arturia's daughter, she just finished up her second year of college, and wanted to come with her mom on this trip."

"What're you studying?" My dad asks.

"She's really pretty too!" Violet says, causing Mordred to start blushing.

"I'm studying history, I'd like to be a history teacher at some point, maybe focus on dark age and medieval age Europe."

"Hmm. Alright." My dad says.

"Yeah, well, we've got things to do today so I'm gonna go for now, I should be back home in about a week or two."

"Alright, we'll be waiting."

"Mhm. Ok, I love you Violet, I love you mom, dad. Bye!"

"I love you, daddy!

Love you too, Jacob, be safe!

Bye!"

The call ends. "I'm gonna have to figure out a cover story for you two in case we do that again." I tell my Servants.

"Your daughter was very cute, Master." Arturia says.

"Yeah, I know, she's got my genes." I chuckle.

We return our attention to the tv, Minaki just switched the channel back to the news. Last night there were two more murders. Both of them make us stop and pay attention. One is Father Risei Kotomine, the priest at the Catholic Church, and the mediator for the Grail War. He was shot in the back at the church, authorities aren't too sure why he was killed, they say it wasn't a robbery and that he had no enemies.

The second death is Tokiomi Tohsaka, Archer's Master. He was found in his house by his wife, stabbed to death. Once again, no motive or suspect can be determined.

"Well how about that, boss?" Schellick says.

"Hmm. Dammit, I was gonna go get my extra command seal today, guess that won't happen, but at least we don't have to worry about the Archers anymore."

"Yeah, but who killed the Father?" Minaki asks.

I think for a moment. "Most likely another Master, though it could always be a random murder. All the Masters knew about the hit on Caster, and everyone except maybe Berserker knew we were the ones who took him out, they might have tried to get their own seal back with the argument that they helped, and he refused, and things got ugly. But, shooting him? I don't know who else would do that. Everyone else is a pure-blooded mage, and they don't like using muggle weapons."

"Perhaps they are attempting to frame us, pit everyone against us." Arturia suggests.

"Maybe, makes sense. What's also weird is Tohsaka's death on the same night."

"Probably the same killer. He was stabbed, maybe Lancer's Master had them take him and the priest out." Mordred says.

"I don't know. Anyways, nothing we can do about it now, and it's not super important that we know who dunnit. We'll get back on night watch tonight, and keep doing it every other night, until we take the remaining Servants down."

…

It's about 2300, Minaki and I are laying on a hilltop overlooking a good portion of the suburbs outside the main city, watching through our EMF vision for any movement from enemy Servants, trying to ignore the rain that's slowly soaking our clothes. While Schellick drives around with my Servants, to see if Arturia or Mordred can detect any enemies nearby, we provide overwatch.

As Minaki scans the area with her rifle, we engage in casual conversation. "Hey boss, I've been thinking… You know what this Holy Grail War reminds me of?"

"What?"

"Afghanistan."

"How so?"

"Well, it's completely different than what any of us were expecting. I hated it then, and I hate this. Not knowing who's an enemy or an ally, not knowing if our current allies are gonna betray us or not, not knowing if the guy that you're talking to isn't just gonna press a button or whatever and kill all of us in one go. We weren't designed for this kind of war."

"Hmm… true, I'm honestly worried myself, this war between mages has so few rules it may as well not have any. I'm scared that we might ultimately lose because we're not willing to do whatever it takes to win. The only one of all of us that's fairly loose on chivalry is Mordred, and even she has some standards."

"This whole thing is just stupid. Why does it have to be in the middle of a city? Why not just put everyone into the forest, or a cave system? Something far away from anywhere so that there's no unnecessary deaths. Fucking stupid."

I mutter my agreement, "Schellick, got anything?"

"Not yet, boss."

"I am not detecting any presence nearby." Arturia says.

"Nada." Mordred says.

"Did you just say 'nada'?" For those of you who may not know, "nada" is Spanish for "nothing."

"Yeah… is that bad?"

"No, no, I just didn't expect you to say that. Where'd you learn that?" I hear Minaki chuckle beside me.

"I already knew it, remember? Servants know a bajillion languages," Bajillion? "And... the Internet." Ah, that's it. I'll have to be careful that Mordred doesn't become an Internet shitlord from all the stuff she's taking in from watching YouTube and stuff.

We keep watching for another hour and a half. Nothing ever happens, so we call it a night. Schellick picks us up and we head home.

…

The next morning, my Servants and I get up fairly early, so I decide to let my teammates sleep a little more, and I take Arturia and Mordred to a breakfast cafe. Once we're almost there, Arturia suddenly starts looking around. "Mordred…"

"Yeah, a Servant." Why is it that when we go out looking for Servants we don't find shit, but just going out to do our own thing we always run into them? I'm starting to think this is all part of some game or some shit.

Nothing comes of them noticing the presence of another Servant, so we continue to the restaurant. It serves coffee, bagels, crepes, breakfast sweets, that sort of stuff. We go in and wait in line, looking at the menu, I decide on getting a breakfast bagel and regular black coffee, Arturia chooses a strawberry crepe with… strawberry milk, alright… and Mordred orders some French toast and orange juice.

We stand by the serving window and wait, once our food is ready we take it and look for a place to sit. Upon scanning the restaurant I happen to see a college student sitting at a table big enough for six people. Across from him is a girl with pink hair, and a really big, jacked dude with red hair.

I look at my Servants, "Should we?" I ask.

"I don't think it's wise, Master." Arturia says.

"Noted. I was gonna do it anyway." I grin as I approach the table. I sit down next to Waver, Arturia sits next to me, and Mordred is across from her, next to Iskandar.

As I sit, Waver looks up from his food, "Hey, sorry but you can't- Uh…."

"Howdy. Mind if we sit here?"

"W-What are you doing?"

"Eating. I thought it would be nice to sit with people I know."

"Well, I don't think it's a good idea to-"

"Ah, it's fine, Master." Iskandar says, "Do you not remember? All are welcome to feast with us, be they friend or foe!" Iskandar has two full platters of food in front of him, containing every kind of meat the restaurant has, a shitload of eggs, toast, hash browns, and fruit. Astolfo has some kind of chocolate crepe, and Waver got a pancake platter.

"Hey, Hey, Master! Try this!" Astolfo says as she- God dammit, he leans across the table and sticks a fork full of crepe in his Master's face. Waver recoils a bit and says "Uh-" but before he can respond fully Astolfo shoves the fork in his mouth. Waver eats the food and I start laughing, which is a mistake, as Astolfo then sticks a fork full of food in my mouth. "You too, Saber's Master!" It's actually really good, and as I chew, he laughs, though his laugh quickly dies off when he sees Arturia's piercing glare, which is almost as sharp as her sword.

We eat in silence for another minute, then I ask Waver, "You hear about Archer's Master and the priest guy?"

"Mhm, we saw it yesterday on the news."

"Was that you?"

"No, I'm not sure who it was."

"Didn't think so, I'm trying to figure out who it might be."

"It could be Berserker's Master."

"Hmm, true, we don't know anything about him, since he summoned the Berserkers he's probably not the most honorable guy out there."

"Yeah, do you think it's the same person who killed both of them?"

"I doubt it, since both murders happened on the same night on opposite ends of the city, they're most likely not related. What I wanna know is how Tohsaka died."

"That is an interesting mystery, Master of Saber," Iskandar says, "He would've been guarded by his Servants, and as they are Archers, nothing would escape their sight. Had it been another Master and Servants, we would've known. As I'm sure you know, a fight between Servants is seldom a quiet affair. This would imply that the murderer of Archer's Master was someone he knew and trusted."

"It could also have been Assassin." Astolfo chimes in.

"How? Both Assassins are dead, their Master is out of the War." Waver says.

"Well, maybe not. Remember at the start when the priest told us that Assassin was killed, but he turned out to not be dead? It would be a good tactic of someone like Assassin to make everyone think he's done but really he's not. And on top of that, one of the Assassins' Noble Phantasms is that they have dozens of individual Servants, even though each one is pretty weak. The Master could've easily held one or two back when we fought them at the castle in case he lost. Assassin is also one of the only Servants that I could think of being able to slip by the Archers and take out the Master."

Oh shit, I never thought about that. That makes sense, I'd do that if I was Assassin's Master. Though I wasn't expecting Astolfo of all people to make that conclusion. I say, "True… Now that just leaves the priest. The police thought that his death was a botched robbery at first, but nothing was stolen from the church, then they thought it was maybe some kind of anti-religious extremist, but nothing indicates that either. It has to have something to do with the Grail War, my guess is that one of the other Masters got mad that I was gonna get another command seal, and killed him before I could."

"But that's an obvious huge rule violation, who would do that?" Waver says.

"Berserker, maybe. Assassin, if he is really still in the game, is another. At this point I'd even suspect Lancer's Master, even though both Lancers are very chivalrous, their Master could stand to learn a thing or two. He's also not afraid to get his hands dirty, motherfucker dropped a building on me."

"Wait, he's the one that did that with the hotel!?"

"Yep."

At this point, most of us are finished eating. Iskandar is watching tv on a screen set up on a wall behind me, I turn to see what's on, they're currently talking about the U.S. President pulling troops out of Syria. He sighs, "It is always sad to see a military full of capable men ordered around by fools with no scars."

I chuckle. "You don't even know the half of it. Best army in the history of the world, being told what to do by a bunch of civilians and generals who ain't shot a gun since the turn of the century."

He looks at Waver, "You know, Master, I think that when we win the Grail, I will attempt to conquer this… United States, I believe it would be a good challenge."

This time I laugh, "No, no you're not."

He cocks an eyebrow at me, "Oh? You doubt the might of my Ionioi Hetairoi?"

"No, for it's time, your army was impressive, the largest in the ancient world, but at most it consists of around 200,000 men, all armed with armor and weapons from 350 bc. The United States has 1.3 million active duty service members, another 800,000 reserves, 20 million veterans, and about another 40 million registered gun owners, all of whom are ready and willing to fight and die to protect their nation. Our military is the most powerful in the entire history of the world, we have weapons and technology that's literally thousands of years ahead of what your army has, we have guns with an effective range of 500 meters, artillery and armored vehicles capable of traveling at over 50 miles an hour and engaging targets well over a mile away. We have aircraft that travel twice as fast as sound, fleets of warships loaded with nuclear missiles that can destroy an entire city in the blink of an eye. Our military can respond to threats anywhere, any time, in a matter of hours. On top of that we have allies all around the world with their own millions of men and equipment ready to help us if we need it. So no, I don't think you're gonna be able to conquer the US very easily."

It's Iskandar's turn to laugh, "Ah, but who said anything about a military invasion? I need only insert myself into your politics and rule that way. Your country is a Republic, no? It would not be hard to gain faith with your people. That is why I despise democracies and the like, leaving it up to the common people to vote on issues well above their scope of knowledge is a sure way to lose your nation."

"I doubt very many people will vote for you, people from my country don't really like tyrants that much."

"I'm sure most would agree that a tyrant who is strong, and who will fight their country's enemies, is better than a likeable soft-shelled coward who will cave to any demand in order to please the uneducated masses who voted for him."

"So is it impossible to be strong and also give a crap about your subjects?" Mordred throws in, her mouth full of food.

"I suppose not." Iskandar muses.

"You see, that's the beauty of an electoral form of government in a country based on individual freedom. Anyone can be anything, and you can quickly figure out who's good and who's bad, what works and what doesn't, if you give everyone a chance, instead of a lifetime of some politician's son who doesn't know shit about what he's doing running things." I say.

"That may be true, but I can think of a much better way to ensure that the inept and corrupt are kept out of office."

"What's that?"

He grins, "Assassins." And he then gives a huge, hearty laugh that causes a good half of the restaurant to look at us for a moment. "Say, King of Knights, you've been silent so far, what say you on this matter?"

Arturia straightens up a little, "As I have stated before, a ruler should be strong and swift in judgement, that much is true, Rider, but to neglect the needs of your subjects is to neglect your duties as a king."

"The everyday needs and wants of every farmer and craftsman should not concern you when you have to rule an entire empire, but I don't suppose you, as the ruler of a tiny island, would understand that." Iskandar growls.

Mordred glares sideways at Iskandar dangerously. Arturia responds with a slight smirk, "When a farmer can grow up to become the ruler of said island, and become the most famous king in history, it should become the concern of the current king, though I don't suppose you, as the spoiled son of a king whose achievements you rode on the back of and took credit for, would understand that." Arturia is somehow able to spit fire with a voice as cold as ice.

Iskandar looks intently at Arturia for a moment. "Ah… Now I understand… Now it all makes sense why you would place the burdens of your entire nation onto your own shoulders."

I watch the line of people and the door while we talk, I have a personal pet peeve that my dad instilled in me to sit in a restaurant where I can see the entrance, in case something goes down. At this time, I notice a group of four guys enter the restaurant, and to say they look suspicious would be an understatement. All of them have hoodies with the hoods up, are wearing sunglasses, and those hospital mask things that people in Asian countries sometimes wear.

They reach into their jackets, one of them approaching the counter and the others moving to spread throughout the restaurant. "Fuck." I say, as they all pull out MAC-11 machine pistols and one of the guys fires a quick burst into the air, causing everyone in the restaurant to scream and duck down.

"Everyone just stay calm! We're not here to kill you, we're just here for anything of value that you have!" The guy who shot into the air says, they start going to all the tables having people dump their phones and wallets into bags. I look up, there's holes and tiny dust clouds in the ceiling, shit. These guys have real rounds, usually petty thieves like these guys will have fake guns, or they'll have blanks in.

"Master! Your orders!" My Servants say, looking at me intently.

I shake my head, "Wait, we're not in a good position to do anything without being exposed." I look to my side, Astolfo and Iskandar are looking at Waver, who looks petrified, I'm sure they're having a similar mental discussion.

One guy is at the counter taking money from the register, another just finished getting money from the people in line and is on the other side of the restaurant. The third is working on a table by a window near us, and the last one is at the table behind me. They're all saying the usual "hurry up, put it in the bag, let's go!" Kind of stuff.

Arturia and Iskandar are both sitting still, appearing calm, but still glancing around and gauging the situation. Mordred is clenching her knife so hard she's bending it, and Astolfo is shaking, a rare angry look on his face. Waver is looking at him, shaking his head slightly. I'm gonna be honest, my heart is hammering out of my chest, my hands are a little jittery, I'm just waiting for a good opportunity to-

"Hey!" Astolfo suddenly stands up, knocking his chair back, and he starts striding over to the guy at the counter. Waver heaves a defeated sigh and I mutter a curse. All the robbers point their guns at Astolfo as he gets up, it's good because if they intended to kill him they would've just shot him as he stood up, this shows that they're hesitant on murdering anyone. "I'm not gonna let you take these people's belongings!"

Astolfo stops about five feet away from the guy at the counter. He pauses for a second, then starts laughing, "Are you shitting me? What the hell are you gonna do? We're the ones with guns!"

"Just because you're stronger doesn't give you the right to just take other people's things that they earned and worked for?"

"So… What? You gonna pay for them?" The thief takes a couple steps toward him.

"Maybe, what do you want?" Astolfo asks, still looking at the guy defiantly.

"Heh, well, a pretty girl like you…" The robber takes off his sunglasses and eyes Astolfo up and down, noting the stockings and short skirt, and crop top under his jacket. "Maybe…"

"Mordred…" I say, she looks at me, I flick my gaze to the guy by the window. She nods slightly.

The guy by Astolfo reaches towards him, and Astolfo grabs his wrist. "H-Hey! What-" He starts trying to free his hand, jerking and pulling, but he's unable to escape Astolfo's surprisingly strong grip. Then Astolfo… Well… he… he shoves the guy's hand under his skirt and into his crotch… Yeah.

The guy's face goes through a swift change from pleasant surprise, to confusion, to (understandable) shock and horror. "Wh- wha- wha-... y-y-y- you... you're a-"

Astolfo punches the dude square in the chest with his free hand, sending him into a wall about fifteen feet behind him. As this happens I yell, "Now!" And I get up from my chair, pivoting. Mordred gets up from her chair as well and picks it up. The guy on the other side of the room aims his weapon at Astolfo. I grab the wrist of the guy behind me and twist it. Astolfo materializes his sword. Mordred throws her chair. I bring my fist up onto the guy's elbow, effectively snapping his arm in half. A burst of bullets is fired at Astolfo, he blocks and deflects them with his sword. Mordred's chair slams into the guy by the window, breaking apart and sending him crashing through the window. I grab the gun from the guy I'm holding, who is now screaming in pain, and aim it at the guy across the room. I let off a short burst, hitting him in the chest, shoulder, and throat. He crumples to the ground. I put a couple rounds into the legs of the guy I'm holding. He collapses, screaming some more. Astolfo puts his sword away.

Everything between Astolfo punching the guy and me shooting this guy's legs happens in about four and a half seconds. I check to make sure all the civilians are ok, then I heal what I can from the robbers, giving the weapons to a few people to watch them while the police show up. The first guy I shot is just outright dead, one bullet hit his heart, another his esophagus and jugular vein, the two that were hit by the Servants are out cold, and the one whose arm I broke is now curled into a ball whimpering like a child. I also leave about 15,000 yen to help cover the cost of the chair and window. We leave quickly, even before anyone can properly thank us. Outside, we walk down the street, taking several corners to get out of sight of the restaurant. "That was fun!" Astolfo says.

"That was the exact opposite of fun!" Waver says.

"Hahaha! Oh come now, Master! A little blood-pumping action after a healthy debate never hurt anyone." Iskandar says.

I smile, "Yeah, sorry Rider, but I don't think we're gonna eat with you again, every time we do someone tries to kill us."

Iskandar laughs, "Ah, but we could say the same about you, Sabers. But it is true that he is the fool who keeps dangerous company. Next time we meet, may we finally determine who is on the right side of history."

Astolfo suddenly grabs Waver's arm and pulls him away to an electronics store, "Hey, hey, Master! This place looks cool, let's check it out!" Waver can only groan in protest.

Iskandar sighs, "Dealing with that man is more tiresome than fighting an elephant with nothing but a stick. Until next time, King of Knights!"

"Until then, King of Conquerors." Arturia says. He enters the store with his companions, and we make our way back to our vehicle and head back to the house.

…

When we get back to the house, I realize something. "Hey, you guys remember that day that I did that whole intervention thing with you two right?" I ask my Servants. They nod, "Didn't I say I was gonna take you dancing that night or the next one?"

"Yeah, never did, though." Mordred says.

"How about we go tonight? We're not doing anything else." I suggest.

"I would like that." Arturia says, Mordred nods her approval.

"Alright, we'll go sometime around nine tonight."

During the early afternoon, we relax outside, my teammates and I sitting on the grass in the backyard, having a couple beers while we watch my Servants duel using the wooden swords we bought. Something's different about the way they fight, Mordred is still aggressively competitive, and her fighting style is still very akin to the way a Berserker would fight, but it's more controlled, she doesn't get quite as angry when she loses. It's more like she's trying to be better than herself, rather than Arturia.

Arturia has also changed her fighting style, while she's still very calculated and robot-like in her timing and striking, she's focusing more on offense than she has previously. In battles before, she'd rely heavily on her defensive abilities and wait to make one single strike, but now she's taking more chances, opening herself up more to try and goad Mordred into attacking. It's kinda funny to watch them fight sometimes, they both have the Instinct ability, so they can both accurately predict what the other will do if they take a certain action, so at certain points there will be a minute or two of them simply circling each other and feinting a bunch to try and trick each other into attacking. After a while, Mordred tries to stab Arturia, and Arturia parries and catches Mordred's sword with her own, raising both swords up so that they're above their heads.

Mordred tries to back off, but Arturia steps up and stays with her, and now they're in a position of gridlock, neither of them can move to break away without the other bringing their weapon down to strike. They both stand there, bodies locked and tense, grimacing and sweating slightly from the effort of trying to press their sword against the other and win. If this were a real fight, Mordred would win this little strength contest. Based on her Servant parameters, she's twice as strong as Arturia, but now, they aren't using their Servant strength, so that the fight is more fair, and they don't break the swords. The problem now is that they're exactly the same in terms of natural strength.

"Oh shit, what're they gonna do now?" Schellick says, taking a drink.

"Someone's gonna have to do something reckless." Minaki says.

I watch silently, too invested in the fight to comment. Arturia looks at me out of the corner of my eye for a moment. Then back to Mordred. Schellick takes another drink. Arturia looks at me again, then Mordred. She takes a step forward and lunges.

And she kisses Mordred.

Schellick spits out his drink, "NOOO WAAAAY!" Minaki drops her can and makes a long "Ohhhhhh!" Sound. My jaw drops and I start laughing hysterically, "Yes! Yes! Hahahaha!"

Now, this isn't a quick peck or anything, this is a full-on smooch for like five seconds, I'm sure there's some tongue stuff going on too. Mordred's entire body turns red and she freezes up as soon as Arturia's lips connect with hers, she's completely stunned. Arturia brings her sword down and trips Mordred, causing her to plop onto her back, and she presses her sword against Mordred's throat for a second. "I believe I win this one." Arturia says. Mordred doesn't react to anything that happens, she just stares straight up with a look of shock and horror on her face.

My teammates and I are laughing our asses off, we're doubled over and my sides are on fire. "Wh- Wh- Wh- wha- wha- bu- b-b-b-bu- fa- fa- f-f-fa- bu-" Mordred stammers, unable to form words, let alone sentences. After a minute I get up and go over to Mordred, I offer my hand to help her up but she gets up by herself and starts walking inside, covering her mouth.

"Mordred…" Arturia starts, Mordred visibly flinches at her Father's voice.

She holds up a hand in a "halt" gesture, looking down at the ground. "Just… give me a minute!" I happen to notice tears forming in her eyes. She runs inside and slams the door.

I walk up to Arturia, she's looking at the door with a slightly guilty expression on her face. "Hmm… Perhaps I went a little too far."

"You're goddamn right you did!" I laugh, Schellick says "A little!?" Between breaths. Minaki is still giggling uncontrollably. "Why did you do that?" I ask Arturia.

"I recalled the first time you and I sparred, and knew that it would be an effective way to distract Mordred and gain the upper hand." Oh great, now Arturia, said by many to be one of, if not the greatest swordsman to ever live, is now resorting to dirty tactics to win fights. She just became a lot scarier. I think for a second about how much she and Mordred have become akin to one another. If it weren't for their distinctly different voices, they could dress the same and no one would be able to tell the difference between them.

I chuckle at her explanation. "Alright then, let's go get ready for tonight." She nods and everyone else heads inside. I stop by Mordred's room and knock, "Mordred, we're gonna try to leave around nine tonight."

"Mmm." Is the only response I get.

…

It's about 2045 now, I'm in my room reading from my spell book while I wait for everyone else to get ready. I have on some khakis and a blue plaid collared shirt with the sleeves rolled up to my elbows, as well as a grey hoodie. I hear a knock at my door, "Master? Are you ready?" Arturia opens the door.

I look up, "Holy fuck." I say as I stare at her. She's wearing a white shoulderless shirt that is frilled on the ends, the sleeves stopping at her elbows and the main part stopping just above her belly button, showing her midriff. She's also wearing ripped jean short shorts that look almost identical to the ones Mordred usually wears, along with some white sneakers. Her hair is also left down and straightened, hanging loosely down her back. The whole picture shows off how slender her body is, and how long her legs are in proportion to the rest of her body, despite her short stature.

"...Master, are you alright?" Arturia asks after a few seconds.

"Yeah, I just… Wow." I don't wanna embarrass her by saying that it's the sexiest thing I've seen in quite a while. The ironic thing about clothes that look good on a woman is that they usually make guys want to take them off even more. I get up and go out to the main room. Schellick and Minaki are out waiting by the door. Schellick has on a collared shirt like me, but his is a solid black and he's wearing jeans. Minaki has on light blue skinny jeans and a grey tank top under a lightweight black hoodie. Oddly enough, Mordred isn't in the room. "Where's Mordred?" I ask.

"She's still in her room." Arturia says.

I walk over to Mordred's door. She was out and about earlier, having recovered from her earlier shock, so it's a little weird that she's cooped up now. I knock. "Mordred? Are you ready?"

"I- uh, ye- wait! No! No I'm- I mean- aargh!... Is… is it just you, Master?"

"Uh… Yeah." Everyone else is by the door.

The door opens about a foot, and Mordred's arm reaches out and grabs me, pulling me into the room. "Master!" Arturia says. "It's fine, gimme a minute." I say back.

Mordred's room is pitch black, I can't even see my nose. I hear Mordred's slightly shaky breathing as she lets go of me. "You have no idea how much it took to put this on." She says quietly, standing maybe five feet away from me. I open my mouth to say something, but she interrupts me, "If you laugh, I swear on the honor of my Father that I'll kill you, Master." She sounds extremely shy and nervous but dead serious at the same time.

"O...Kay…" I say slowly, slightly confused. Mordred flips the light switch and I blink away the sudden rush of light. Mordred is standing in front of me, her face is red, almost as red as earlier today, and she's staring right through my soul with a "don't you dare say it" look on her face. Her hair is down like Arturia's, they really do look almost exactly alike, and she's wearing a white shoulderless dress that stops about halfway down her thighs, a red sash tied around her waist with a bow on her left side. She's also wearing white-laced black sneakers and white ankle high socks. I stare at her for a few seconds, absolutely awestruck. It's hard to believe that this is the same person who, just a few nights ago, was charging into battle wearing a full suit of plate armor and wielding a sword that's almost as tall as she is.

"..."

"...Y- You gonna say something?"

"Uh…. Well…"

"I know, it looks horrible on me, right?" She smiles a little, but there's this weird look in her eyes. I'm trying to figure out if she wants me to agree with her so she doesn't have to wear it, or compliment her so she feels good about herself.

"I… God damn!" Mordred starts blushing even more, "Sorry, but, like… I- I can't even describe how amazing you look."

"What? B-But I… I don't look very… I mean I don't have… Ah, never mind, just… just never mind! Let's go, Master!" Mordred walks out of the room and storms out to the car. On the way, Schellick whistles his approval. She looks at him, her eyes ablaze. "If you say anything, I will castrate you." She says quietly, continuing on outside.

I never realized before just how bad Mordred's inferiority complex is, but I think I do now. A lifetime of being told that she had to be as good as someone that she looked at as a Demigod, living every moment to follow in the footsteps of one of the most famous kings in history, and ultimately failing at that one dream, that one goal she ever had. Dying with the regrets and feelings of mediocrity ingrained into her entire being. Being cursed with a flawed, inhuman body that made her constantly feel inadequate, insecure, different, weird. With all this, it's no wonder she doesn't think she's pretty, even though she's obviously a very beautiful young woman.

I think about all this as I drive, looking at Mordred in the rear view mirror. I also glance at Arturia beside me, thinking about her, how she never had the chance to feel like a person, only a knight, or a king. When she was a child her father was angry that she was a girl and not a boy, so he had her start training to become a knight. She eventually became a squire, and as a teenager she became a king and had to pretend to be a man for her entire life. She was never able to experience life as a woman, she never knew love or had anyone close enough to her that she could share her feelings with. She was never able to really unwind and not worry about anything, when one threat to her kingdom was dealt with, another would rise up.

In the very short time I've known both of them, I've seen them act more and more like normal people, though it will take a while for them to put aside all the walls they've built up and just be who they want to be, and I'm sure certain parts of their personality will always be there no matter what.

I find a small parking garage just a few hundred feet from the club that I found, we park and walk to it. It's a fairly popular nightclub in this area that's known for playing both Japanese and Western music, most places around here just play Japanese music. Just outside the main doors, we pass an alleyway and I look to my right and notice something that makes me stop for a moment. About twenty feet in, there's a guy, laying on the ground, slumped up against a dumpster. He's wearing jeans and a black or dark blue hoodie with white stripes going down the sleeves, with some tennis shoes. His hood is pulled up over his head, but when I stop and look at him he brings his head up and looks at me. Even from here I can see that he's all kinds of fucked up. His skin is pale and what hair I can see looks unnaturally white, one eye is milky-white, and the whole left side of his face is sunken like a stroke victim, his veins protruding and… twitching?

He's breathing very heavily, grunting slightly, it's easy to see that he's in an extreme amount of pain. Arturia stops with me, looking at me for guidance. I take a couple steps toward the guy, either he just had an ischemic stroke or he's on some real good shit. "Hey, you alright, man?" I ask him. He staggers to his feet, his eyes have a weird look in them, it's like anger or something, but not quite, more like… vengeful determination. He limps away, one arm holding onto the other as it hangs limply at his side, one leg dragging across the pavement, refusing to work, as his other carries him away on its own. I decide not to chase after him, "Fuckin tweaker." I mutter as I turn back to the rest of my group, waiting by the door.

We walk inside and instantly get blasted by a cacophony of noise, a large dance floor taking up most of the square footage in the building, several booths and tables situated around it, with a large bar on one wall. There's gotta be over 300 people here, most of whom are couples on the floor dancing to some J-Pop. We find a table large enough to accommodate all of us, and relax for a minute, letting my Servants get used to the new space and experience. While our ears adjust to the 100 decibels music and dozens of loud, almost obnoxious voices around us, Schellick goes up to the bar and orders us all drinks. I unzip my jacket as my Servants glance around nervously.

"You two good!?" I ask them, even though I'm right next to them I have to yell to be heard, I'm not sure if even our telepathy can be heard over the din of the club.

"Yeah, it's just, very different to what we're used to!" Mordred says.

"You guys held balls and stuff like that in your castle right?" Minaki asks them.

"Yes, we did learn how to dance, it just wasn't this…" Arturia searches for the right word and trails off, looking at the young couple nearest us. I follow her gaze and see that they're basically grinding and dry humping each other to the tune of the music. I laugh as Schellick returns with beers, which we all drink.

We all simply sit and watch the dancers for a little bit as we enjoy a couple drinks, using the alcohol to loosen us up and increase our chances of making bad choices. After I finish my third beer I get up and say, "I'm going in." Mordred jumps up and walks with me as I go to the edge of the dance floor, waiting for the current song to end so I can jump in at the start of the next one. "Mordred, do you know how to dance?" I ask her.

"Uhhh… Heh, not really. I can kinda lead a waltz but that's really it, I'm guessing we shouldn't do that though."

"Hmm… I have an idea." Now I myself am by no means a good dancer, or even an average one, I've just never been into dancing. The last time I was serious about dancing was when I was practicing with my wife so that we could dance together for our wedding reception despite her being blind. I'm not really a bad dancer, I just don't do it a lot. Recently my mom got Violet hooked on Dancing with the Stars so we watch a good amount of it, I've picked up on a few things from it. And, well, we are in a club, no one else is gonna be paying too close attention to us so if we do something stupid no one's gonna care. Mordred can't dance too well, but maybe I can make something work.

The song ends and after a brief pause is replaced by "Dancin ft. Luvli (Krono Remix)" by Aaron Smith. "Oh yeah, here we go." I say as I step out onto the floor. (Now, I don't wanna tell you how to live your life, but I'd highly recommend listening to the songs I mention, if you haven't already, to give yourself a better mental picture of the situation, but you do you boo boo.)

"Uh, Master…" Mordred says, uncertain of what to do.

"Follow my lead." I say, smiling as I start to dance. I start focusing on Mordred as I think intently about what dance moves I'm going to do next. It seems to work, as I start dancing, focusing on doing fluid motions with my upper body and fast, sliding motions with my feet and legs, Mordred starts copying my actions, maybe a quarter of a second behind me. I look to my left to watch her beside me for a second, and she looks to her left too, then looks to her right at me, confused. Once she realizes that it's just me looking at her and not part of the dance we both start laughing. At the midpoint of the song I grab her hands and start swing dancing with her. She and I grin stupidly and giggle as we fling each other around, twirling and twisting, me licking her up and spinning her in the air, almost hitting other dancers. I glance back at the table with my team, they're all smiling and watching us, and I see Schellick recording us with his phone. Once the song ends and is followed up by "U Got That" by Halogen, we go back to the table. "Hahahaha! Father! Father! You have to do it too! That was so much fun!" Mordred says, high off of dopamine and serotonin.

"I shall, whenever you are ready, Master." Arturia says.

"Give me a minute, I need a breather… and another drink." We relax for another few minutes, but I'm only about halfway through my first drink when "Something Just Like This" by The Chainsmokers & Coldplay starts up. It's one of my favorite songs of all time, and when I hear it start I jump up, grab Arturia by the wrist, and lead her onto the dance floor. Once we're on the floor we start waltzing, swaying to and fro, looking at each other and smiling gently as we listen to the lyrics. I start singing along softly, causing Arturia to giggle a little bit. We keep our movements in time with the song, picking up our pace as the song's tempo increases. Towards the last third of the song we're almost swing dancing, with me twirling and sipping Arturia, she has a funny look of surprise as I do this, not used to this kind of dancing, almost unable to keep up with my movements. During the build-up to the final high point of the song I dip her one more time, deeper than the previous times. She squeals a bit and holds onto my back as I hold her up, her body parallel to the floor, our faces only a couple inches apart.

She's blushing a little, slightly flushed with all the dancing and a little embarrassed from the movements, which I occasionally made a little more sexual than I needed to. Once the final climax of the song hits I take a chance, and lean down, planting my lips on hers. She makes a startled noise similar to the first time I did something like this, and if I wasn't lost in the act I'm doing I would've laughed when I heard Schellick's "Yeah boiii!" accompanied by Minaki's laughter from behind me.

I continue to kiss her for the full 30ish seconds that the song lasts at that point, feeling her return my kiss, us pulling each other closer so that our bodies are touching, eyes closed and savoring the moment, tongues cooling around each other like snakes, fighting for dominance in our mouths. When I finally break the kiss, Arturia opens her eyes and looks at me, panting from desire, eyes filled with love. This is the first time I've seen her express a genuine emotion that's not just a quick reaction to something happening to her. We both smile at each other for a moment, but then I get a weird feeling, like I'm being watched.

I look around, still holding Arturia, and scan the crowd. Most of the other people are still dancing, not paying attention to us at all, but there's one couple that makes me freeze up completely. It's two Japanese people, about my age, one is a boy with unruly brown hair, he looks like your average Japanese guy, the other is a girl with long black-purple hair, her bangs kept down on her right side to try and cover the burn scars that run down the entire right side of her body. They both are paused in place staring at me with their mouths open. "J-J-J-Jacob!?" The girl stutters out.

"H-Hanako!? Hisao?" I pull Arturia up. "H-Hey! How you guys doing?" I walk over and embrace both of them. Then lead them back to our table, making room for them.

Schellick sees me leading Hanako and says, "Damn boss, you're getting all the chicks!" But then gets an "oh shit" look on his face when he sees Hisao.

I sit down between my Servants and my friends, "Alright, everyone, this is Hisao and Hanako, two long time friends of my wife's. Hisao, Hanako, this is Antony," Schellick gives a little wave while taking a drink, "Veronica," Minaki says hi, "Arturia," She nods her head, "and Mordred." She gives a little wave of her own. We engage in small talk for a bit, catching up on what's been going on in our lives recently. I first met these two, as well as my wife, about ten years ago, when I was a student teacher at the high school they all attended as seniors, while I was stationed in Japan and working on a Bachelor's degree in education. I started off just helping them out with their coursework but then I would hang out with them a lot, and we became good friends. I ended up falling for Lilly, and I kinda played matchmaker for Hisao and Hanako. Hanako and Lilly were friends since their Freshman year, since they lived right next to each other in the campus dorms, and Hisao arrived at the school just a couple weeks before I did, but quickly started hanging out with the two girls.

After they graduated, Hisao and Hanako stayed in Japan, and when I went back to the States Lilly went with me as a dependent. We got married after a few years once our lives settled down, me as a medical sergeant, and her as an English teacher. The last time I remember seeing Hisao and Hanako in person is at Lilly's funeral. But both Lilly and I would keep in touch with them, and I still do, tough not as much, so it's not like I have no idea what they're doing.

"...You still working in Utsunomiya?" I ask Hanako.

"Mhm, I'm o-one of the eye t-tee people at the Takizawa H-Hospital." She still stutters a bit with her speech, it's a problem she's had since before I met her, from her having real bad social anxiety. She's a lot better now, though, which is good.

"You still at Yamaku, Hisao?"

"Yeah, I finally understand why Mr. Mutou always looked so sad, knowing that not everyone enjoys learning about physics or molecular biology." He says with a sad smile as he takes a drink from probably the only beer he's gonna have tonight, on account of his heart.

"Jacob, I remember you telling us that you finally left the army, what are you doing now?" Hanako asks.

"Oh, I'm still working for the government. I'm a… oh what do they call it? Instructor, I guess. I go around to different places, usually in the US but sometimes internationally, and teach medical and combat stuff to police and military forces. Anthony and Veronica do similar stuff with their respective fields, but usually they're just accountants. I've been friends with them for a year or two now, that's how I met Arturia."

"Oh, and how long have you been dating?" Hisao asks.

Arturia looks at me, "About… Four months? Five?" She says.

"Yeah, something like that."

"And you're her… sister?" Hisao points at Mordred.

Everyone except Hisao and Hanako laughs, "No, no. I'm her s- uh, daughter. Just got an Associates in history." Mordred says.

"What? You two look like you're the same age! And you look like you're in high school!" Hanako says incredulously.

"Thank you." Arturia says with a smile. Everyone chuckles.

"So what are you guys doing here?" I ask Hisao and Hanako, taking another sip of my drink.

"We're on vacation right now. We both had some days off so we got out of town. What about you?" Hisao says.

"Business trip. That's all I can really say." I explain simply.

We engage in a little more small talk and reminisce about the past for another few minutes, Schellick and Minaki go out onto the floor to dance for a bit.

Several minutes go by, Hisao is telling a story to my Servants, "...And then we just hear this 'rrrraaahh!' Sound and they come bursting through the damn wall! And we're all just sitting there like 'Holy shit!'"

"Hahaha! That does sound like Master!" Mordred says.

"'Master'?" Hanako asks, looking at me curiously.

"Ye- Uh…. Ah, I mean- Uh… it's uh, it's a long story." Mordred fumbles her words.

Fuck. How the hell am I gonna explain this. I'm desperately thinking of a way to explain something like that, when suddenly Arturia and Mordred jolt and start looking around. Arturia looks at me, "Master! There's two of them! Very close by!"

"What? How? Shouldn't you have noticed them before now? How far?" I say, completely forgetting about my friends in this sudden situation.

"What's going on, Jacob?" Hanako asks, scared from my sudden seriousness.

"I don't know how we didn't notice them before, they may have been summoned from far away, their signatures are within fifty feet, I can even sense a lot of energy and a lot of aggression, it's probably Berserker." Arturia says.

"What the hell are you talking-" Hisao starts.

I jump up, knocking over my chair, "You two need to leave, now. Go out the back!" I find a fire alarm along the wall and pull it. Lights turn on and the music stops, people groan and start filing out, but then I hear lots of screaming, and people start panicking and running as a mass of black energy appears on the dance floor, the two Berserkers appearing and giving their raging war cries. I go back to the table and start pulling and pushing my friends over to the back door to the club. "Get out of here! NOW!" I yell at them, they're both too stunned to say anything. They go out the door and run back to my Servants. Of course, this is the time I forget my pistol, not that it would do much, but I do have my gear in the car, if we can get to it. Mordred and Arturia now have their armor on and weapons drawn, people running by them barely noticing as they try to get away. The Berserkers look at my Servants, standing next to each other, taking a couple steps closer. "Get them out of here and lure them away from the city, I don't want any-"

I start telling my Servants what to do, then all of a sudden I see someone running towards the Berserkers from the side. This person jumps while running and delivers a side kick into the big one's elbow. It's Minaki, her hands and feet are glowing green, she's using enhancement magic to strengthen her limbs, giving herself strength equivalent to maybe a rank E or maybe D Servant. It's enough, since they were distracted, to send the big guy slamming into the knight, and they both crash through the wall into the street.

"Fuck. Go after them! Keep them away from civilians!" My Servants launch through the hole in the wall, and I run over to Minaki just as Schellick gets to her, I was wondering where they were. "Why the fuck did you do that? They could've handled it!" I berate her. She's on her hands and knees, panting like she just sprinted a mile and a half.

"I just… Wanted to do something-" She pukes on the ground. Shit, she had like a dozen beers and we've only been here an hour or so. She's intoxicated and not thinking straight. "I just wanted to do something cool like you guys always do. Heheh." She probably also spent most of her mana reserves pulling that stunt, so it's gonna be up to me to give my Servants what they need to beat these guys, and honestly that might be more than I can give right now.

"God fucking damn it! Schellick, let's get back to the car and suit up!" There's no one left in the club, everyone went outside by now. Schellick picks up Minaki and we run back to the car. I watch the Servants fight while we do, my Servants are trying to get the Berserkers to go anywhere but they keep hounding them like wolves, if Arturia or Mordred try to break and flee, they'll get hit for sure, and they don't possess the strength to move the Berserkers with their own attacks. They're stuck where they are, fighting in the middle of the street with all these people watching them. This is the exact opposite of good.

We get to the car, I open the trunk and pull my gear out, suiting up while Schellick drops Minaki in the bank seat. I get my armor on, throwing my plate carrier over my hoodie. Schellick goes beside me and grabs his shotgun. I put my hand on his and stop him, "No, I don't wanna risk a ricochet hitting someone, this is gonna be a brawl."

"Roger fuckin that." He says. I put on my exo suit while he gets his armor on, turning it on and testing it, everything works good. While Schellick is putting his shit on I hear screaming behind me and turn around, my hands frozen holding my helmet to my head. People are scattering as a car tumbles down the street end over end, thrown or hit by one of the Servants. A couple people dart across the road, but a woman trips and falls, her husband or boyfriend or whatever stops to help her up. I start sprinting towards them. The woman is prone on the ground and the man is crouched own to help her. The car hurtling down the street lands with its rear bumper about four feet away from them. They both scream as the rest of the car slowly comes down on top of them.

I get to them and push the guy down, so that he's laying across his woman, and I'm on one knee, the other leg over the couple with my foot planted on the other side of them. I press up and stop the car, it's at about a 40 degree angle with the ground. The car is about 500 pounds heavier than the max limit for this kind of thing for my suit. My muscles are screaming as I try to aid the suit as much as I can. I want to use magic to help myself but right now I can't think of anything, I can't remember any spells. I grunt and yell as my muscles slowly give way and I start hunching over from the weight. I look down and am looking straight into to surprised, fearful eyes of the couple on the ground, my face about a foot from theirs. It's Hisao and Hanako. Of course it is. I almost chuckle as I think that this is gonna be impossible to explain to them. I realize that my visor isn't down so they know exactly who I am.

I look to one side, "Schellick! Hurry the fuck up!" I scream. Schellick runs up and adds his strength to mine. We lift the car enough for my friends to get away, then we drop it. There's a middle-aged man in a business suit strapped into the driver's seat. His neck is at a weird angle. I look up and see the fight going on. Just like the last time, Mordred is fighting the big guy, while the knight seems fixated on Arturia. I look back at Hisao and Hanako, "Stay out of the street, kids." I say with a wicked smile as my vision goes red and flames appear in my eyes and on my arms. Their eyes go even wider than before. I start jogging with Schellick towards the Servants. "Help Mordred, I'll take the knight this time." I say. He acknowledges me.

Mordred and the big Berserker are trading blows between two parked cars, there's blood dripping where they're both standing, Mordred has several nicks and dents in her armor, and the Berserker has gouges and cuts all along his arms and legs. Mordred's sword sparks with red energy as she jabs and slashes at the dual-wielding giant, dodging his sweeping strokes with a dexterity that belies her bulky, heavy armor. Arturia is fighting a similar battle with the black knight, who has a sword of his own, rather than whatever he can get his hands on. He is showing a skill and deftness with the longsword that really contradicts his strength and ferocity as a Berserker. He was clearly a very well-trained swordsman in life.

Schellick shoots his grapple between the Berserker's legs and slides under him, attempting to slice his hamstrings or Achilles' tendons. I jump up and shoot my own grapple just past the knight, reeling myself in to bring my bladed fist down on his head. He dodges back at the last second, my attack only grazing and sparking against his helmet. "AAAAAAARRRRHHHHH!" He parries Arturia's jab and grabs me, whirling me around and throwing me into a parked car, making the tires screech as the whole thing is pushed back a few feet. I feel most of my ribs crack from the impact and the wind is knocked out of me. "OOOOOOOAAH!" The big Berserker dodges Mordred's strike, ignores the new gashes in his legs from Schellick, then brings one of his axes down onto Schellick's grapple line, severing it. Schellick starts to curse but is interrupted by the Berserker backhanding him upwards, he starts pinwheeling in the air as the Berserker kicks Mordred into another car on the other side of the road from where we're at.

The big guy grabs Schellick's leg and slams him down onto yet another car, denting the hood. Schellick doesn't move. Avalon starts healing me as I get back up, desperately trying to breathe. Arturia and the knight strike and parry at each other almost too fast for me to see. Mordred gets up and grabs the car she was kicked into, and drags it around to hit the Berseker with it. I didn't realize she was that strong. He flies into a pillar on a building across the street. "He knows the length of my blade…" Arturia says, more to herself than anyone else. They lock blades for a moment. "You! You are clearly a knight of high caliber! I demand, on your honor, that you tell me who you are!" Arturia says to the knight.

"RRRRRRRRR… AAAAARRRRTTTHHHUUUURRRR!" the knight screams, his voice muffled by the helmet. He pushes back on Arturia and they break for a second. I come up behind the knight and wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him back into me. I hold on as tightly as I can.

"Hit him! Now!" I yell. Arturia grabs her invisible sword by the blade and strikes the knight across the head with the pommel. His head is knocked to the side and his helmet shatters. My face is suddenly filled with long, greasy, black hair. Arturia freezes in horror.

"Y-You… You're…" Arturia stutters. The knight grabs me and throws me over his head. I land in the middle of the street and look back at the knight, he has razor sharp teeth bared like fangs and a look of absolute insane hatred in his eyes. "Lancelot…" Arturia whispers, I barely hear it.

"AAARRRTTHHUUURRR!" Lancleot screams, launching himself at Arturia. He strikes with a force I've never seen before. Arturia's almost letting him hit her, just barely blocking enough to not be killed.

"How could you… What caused you to do this, to become this way?" Arturia says. "Was it me? Did my decision hurt you that badly?" He's pummeling her with strikes. Mordred is having her own hard time with the other Berserker, they strike at each other with their weapons, and after a moment Mordred lunges forward and sucker punches him in the gut. Schellick staggers to his feet and rolls off the car. The Berserker grab's Mordred's arm and twists, creating a sickening cracking sound. Mordred cries out as the Berserker brings her up and over his head and throws her down into the ground, creating a slight crater. He then lifts a foot and brings it down on her helmeted face, curb stomping her with such force that all her limbs raise up and straighten out, then flop down almost lifelessly. She's still holding her sword.

Lancelot pummels Arturia until she's on her knees right next to me, holding her sword up in a feeble attempt to block him. "Did you really hate me this much?" He holds his sword over his head, blade down, about to bring it down on Arturia and execute her, foam coming from his mouth in his rabid rage. I spin around on the ground and kick his left foot out from under him, knocking him off balance. Arturia springs up and runs Lancelot through his chest, lifting him off the ground and supporting his body with her shoulder.

The other Berserker raises his foot again, and suddenly Mordred's sword flicks to the left and his foot detaches at the ankle. Schellick runs into his back and stabs him, pushing him forward. As he falls, Mordred brings her sword back to the right, decapitating him, rolling to avoid being crushed by his weight. Berserker's body starts dissipating.

"I had thought… For the longest time… That I was the strongest… But I guess I was mistaken…" Lancelot says in a moment of clarity before he dies.

"I am sorry, my friend… At least you died in battle, with honor." Arturia says quietly.

"Heh, you still care about honor, even now? You truly do not understand anything… My King…" Lancelot's body disappears.

Arturia turns to me, a look of deep sadness in her eyes, tear streaks on her cheeks. "Are you alright, Master?"

"I'll live." She helps me up and I limp over to Mordred and Schellick. This fight was super short but super brutal, it was only… shit, five minutes. I put a hand on Schellick's shoulder, "Accelerate sanitatem." A warm blue light engulfs him for a second. I walk over to Mordred. She's lying on her back and staring straight up at the sky. She looks at me without moving her head as I approach her.

"Hey Mastah." She mumbles. Her face is all kinds of fucked up. One eye is swollen shut, she has a slight indentation in her skull, her nose is broken and bleeding, lips cut up.

"You alright?"

"Yeah, it'll take a lot more than that to kill the son of the King of Knights." She smiles, showing several missing teeth. I help her up and heal her. We start walking back to the car as we hear sirens in the distance. It takes me a second to realize that my pyromancy is still going. At this point I don't really care. The three hundred or so people watching with fear as we walk by them, many with phones out. We make it to the car, Minaki passed out in the back seat. I drive back, being the one least likely to have a concussion. By the grace of God we make it back to the house without incident.

I take my gear and broken armor off and sit down on the couch. Schellick does the same, supporting Minaki. As I sit, Arturia sits next to me, resting her head on my shoulder. Mordred lays her head on my lap, Arturia strokes her hair. "Master… thank you." Arturia suddenly says as I nod off to sleep.

"For what?" I mumble, eyes falling.

"...Everything." She takes my hand in hers as we both drift off to sleep.

 **Author's note: This is, obviously, a work in progress, and I am currently working on future chapters and will publish them as soon as possible, but because of my current job it can be difficult to take the time to sit down and write. I would like to thank everyone for their patience as you go on this journey with me.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's Note: This chapter is brought to you in part by a good friend of mine, who I will refer to as "Higgins", he helped me choreograph one of the scenes, as I was having trouble deciding how exactly to execute it. A big thank you to him.**

 **Also, apologies for taking so long getting this last part out, I wanted it to be as good as possible, on top of taking a trip and then having a death in the family, I hope you all enjoy.**

I awake the next morning, my Servants using me as a pillow, Minaki leaning on Schellick on the other couch as they both sleep. I look down at Mordred, her face has healed quite a bit, though it's still a little messed up. She has a black eye and a fat lip, and her nose is still messed up. I place a hand on her cheek. "Sana vulnera." I speed up her healing, the swelling on her lip and bruising around the eye receding slightly.

She opens her eyes as I heal her, "Ay, Mastah." She mumbles. She sits up, beside Arturia.

Arturia stirs, "Good morning, Master." She says, lifting herself off my shoulder. "What are we gonna do today?"

"Well today I think we should- aaah!" As I stand up I'm hit with a wave of pain, like I did a full-body workout yesterday and every muscle I have is sore. Avalon must still be healing all the broken and bruised bones and organs I have. "Never mind, let's just do nothing today." I stumble over to Schellick and Minaki and heal them.

After I cast my spell, Schellick's eyes fly open, "Ohhhh my Gooooood I think I'm dying." He says in a monotone voice.

"Don't fucking shout so loud." Minaki says as she wakes up and pushes herself off him. "I need water." She walks towards the kitchen.

"You'll be fine, get up and wash off, do some stretching later, we're not doing too much today, or tomorrow for that matter." I tell Schellick as I help him up. He groans when his muscles move.

We spend the day doing as little as possible, healing wounds takes a lot more time and energy than simply recovering mana and stamina. The news comments on our fight outside the club, though no footage is shown, they say it was part of a turf war between Yakuza factions, just like almost everything else we've done. A couple people died, the guy in the car I stopped, as well as that guy I saw in the alley before we went in, he was identified as Kariya Matou. I'm gonna guess that he was Berserker's Master, based on his condition, and the fact that the Matou family is fairly well known among the magic families in the city. Right before lunch Schellick and I set up our communications equipment and I give a report to USARPAC. We have a system devised where I send a report either once a week or whenever something of note, like a battle or Servant death happens. "Scepter Main, this is Scepter 6, over."

...*beep* "Scepter Main, go ahead." I hear the now familiar voice of the General.

"I have a sitrep for you, sir. Last night we engaged and defeated the Berserkers. No casualties sustained except for a couple civilians and Berserker's Master, but a lot of people saw the fight, it'll be hard to cover that up. At this point it's only Lancer, Archer, and Rider left."

"Copy, we've got people in place to work on witnesses… How is Archer still in? You said their Master was killed a few days ago."

"Yes sir, but Servants have the ability to change Masters if their current one is killed, so until we can get confirmation that they're both dead we have to assume that they're still in play."

"Got it… Anything else?"

"...No sir, we got pretty banged up in the last battle so we're gonna rest up and recover for a couple days, we'll resume patrols tomorrow night."

"Roger that, keep us posted."

*click*

…

It's now about 2300 hours. I'm in the living room working on my mobility gear while listening to music, it's still sitting where I left it last night. Once I've confirmed that there's no dead-lining damage (damage that would make the equipment unusable in a combat situation) I leave the suit in the main room and decide to retire for the night.

 **All reader units, this is Author-6! We've got a lemon ambush! Do you copy!? Oh shit they've got AirPods in! They can't hear me! Fuck! I'll let you know when we're clear again!**

I walk into my room and close the door, my music still playing, it's pitch black from the fact that no lights are on in here and there was only a lamp on in the other room. I flick the light switch.

"Master."

"Gah! Fuck, Jesus!" I jump away and almost have a heart attack, Arturia is standing less than a foot away from me when I turn on the light. I look at her, heart pounding from the adrenaline rush I just got. Her hair is down and she's wearing… Lingerie… The same lingerie that I noticed on our first day in the city, when we got clothes for my Servants. "What. The fuck?" I say, perplexed.

"I'm sorry for startling you, Master. I would like to ask a favor of you."

"Uh… Ok."

"I would…" She looks away and starts blushing profusely. "I want to do another mana transfer ritual."

I blink. "Huh? Why? I mean, I'm not entirely against it, but it won't have that much of an effect now that we've already done one."

"I know that, but… I feel… I have so many strange feelings inside me right now that I don't understand. I want to be with you as much as possible. I feel as if our time together is coming to an end, and I… I want to do it with you, just one more time."

Hmm, I did notice that she was close to me a lot today, more than usual. And strange feelings? I don't know what that's about. "Uh… Alright, I guess." I undress until I'm only in my underwear.

Arturia steps up to me, placing a hand on my chest, the other caressing my face. She gazes into my eyes, her own emerald orbs flicking slightly as she takes in the details of my face. "When I return to the Throne of Heroes, I will lose many of my memories of this Holy Grail War. But… I want to remember as much as possible." She says quietly. She embraces me, her head against my chest, listening to my heartbeat, her hands trailing along the scars on my back, feeling the tattoos on my shoulders and arms. "You're… warm, Master."

"That's because I'm a pyromancer." I joke, getting a chuckle out of her. I pick her up and carry her the few steps to my bed, laying her down and getting on top of her. Once I lay her down she holds her hands close to her chest, but I gently grab them and hold her hands above her head as I press my forehead against hers. Her breathing becomes heavy as she anticipates my next actions. I close my eyes as I kiss her, savoring the taste and feeling of her lips against mine.

We make out for several minutes, sucking and biting and licking, our tongues darting into each other's mouths and twirling around. Once I've had my fill I move down and plant a few kisses and bites on her neck and shoulder, drawing a couple erotic gasps from her. I smile as I move down to her sternum, since I hear "Love Me Like You Do" by Ellie Goulding playing on the phone I left with my clothes. I trail my tongue down the valley between her small breasts. Letting go of her hands, I push her bra up to reveal her perky nipples. I flick them with my tongue, peppering her chest with kisses while I move from one to the other, then back. I get my mouth as close to her tit as I can without touching it, then I breathe out softly, making Arturia tremble when my warm, wet breath hits her.

I clamp my mouth over her breast and start sucking and biting, pulling her breast up as far as it'll go. Arturia starts moaning as the pleasure and tiny bit of pain hits her. She places one hand on my head, running her fingers through my hair, the other holding one of my wrists while that hand massages her breast. I twirl my tongue around her nipple, sucking like I'm trying to get milk out of her. "Mmm. You look like a baby, Master." Arturia smiles at me, love, lust, passion all mixed into her gaze.

"You know, Mordred said the same thing when I did this to her." I say after I release Arturia's breast from my mouth. She giggles as I work on her other breast until both of her nipples are erect and puffy. I then start kissing her body, moving down.

She stops me as I get to the spot just above her panties, "M-Master, that's… Well, you don't need to…" I look up at her, "It's indecent." She blushes, looking away in embarrassment. She's so fucking cute.

"Well, everything we're about to do is 'indecent" so I don't mind." I lock my eyes onto hers as I slide her panties off and engulf her pussy in my mouth. She gasps and closes her eyes for a second as I suck and lick and tongue-fuck her, her hand still on my head, grabbing my hair. She opens her eyes again and watches me as I eat her out, running my hands along her body from her thighs to her chest. I can taste her womanly juices flowing out of her and mixing with my saliva to lubricate her.

"Haah, haah, haah, Master." Arturia begins panting from pleasure as her climax slowly builds within her. "Master, Master, I feel like- something's-" Her hips start twitching and bucking slightly, she wraps her legs around my back. Just before she hits climax, I stop. I pull my underwear off and crawl back on top of Arturia.

I look down and position myself, then I look back into her beautiful eyes as I thrust into her. She gasps and exhales almost in rhythm with my movements as I go back and forth, slowly at first, but with gradually increasing speed and irregularity. The whole time, our foreheads are pressed together as well as they can be, given our height differences. She leans up after a minute and continues to kiss me, breathing heavily through her nose as euphoria takes over.

"M-M-Master, i-it's, haah, it's s-so good." She whispers to me.

I pull out of her and say, "Oh just you wait, flip over."

"Flip? You mean like this?" She turns over so she's laying on her stomach. "It's a little- ah!" She gasps in surprise as I grab her hips and pull up so that she's now on her elbows and knees. "You just love embarrassing me, don't you Master?" She lays her head on the pillow and looks back at me while I play with her ass. After a moment I insert myself into her once more and begin thrusting doggy style. Her position allows me to go deeper than before, and she definitely feels it.

Arturia starts moaning louder and louder as I pound into her, yelping in surprise and pleasure when I spank her. I grab her hands and hold them behind her back with one hand, and grab a fistful of hair and push her head down into the pillow as I thrust harder and harder into her burning hot, drenched pussy, grunting from the exertion.

"Ahh, ahh, AAH! Maftah! M-Maftah! Yef!" Her cries are muffled by the pillow. She's giving into her lust and it's really turning me on.

I pull her head up by her hair and lean forward, so that our heads are next to each other. "Mmm, you like this, don't you?" I growl into her ear, slowing down for a moment.

"Haah, yes! Yes I do, Master! More! Keep going!"

"Hmph, alright. Steel yourself, King of Knights."

Arturia gives a surprisingly girlish giggle, "No, I'm not a king anymore, I'm just your Servant! Everything I am is yours to use. Use me! Use me as much as you want!"

Holy fuck, this is… I was not expecting this from her. I release her arms and hair, and I grab her legs, pulling her up and standing up so that we're in a position similar to when we were in the bath, but now she's facing out instead of towards me. "You really want my mana that bad huh?" I chuckle as I kiss her neck, lifting her up a few inches and then letting her fall back down onto my cock.

"Aah! Y-yes! I want all of it! Make me as powerful as you can, Master! Pour all of it into me!" She reaches up and interlocks her fingers behind my neck, holding on to me.

I slowly walk over to where we can see ourselves in a mirror on the wall. I stand in front of it while I bounce her up and down, both of us easily able to see my dick going in and out of her pussy. Her white thigh high stockings accentuating her legs and feet perfectly as they're spread apart, her teal bra pushed up to show her tits jiggling as she descends with a nice meaty smack of my hips meeting her ass.

"Whataya think of this?" I ask her.

"It's- ahh! It's so, so lewd! I can see everything! It's so shameless! I'm so disgraceful, Master! A king shouldn't act like this! Master, I'm- Im bad! You need to punish me somehow!" Her voice has no remorse in it whatsoever. It's obvious that she _wants_ me to "punish" her.

I put her down and press on her back so that she's leaning into the wall standing up, hands on either side of the mirror, staring into her own red, passion-filled face as I fuck her. "Harder… Yes, harder!... HARDER!" She starts screaming in pleasure as I follow her orders. I'm extremely glad of the spell I placed, otherwise I think that people a few houses down could hear her. "Master! Master, I- I'm gonna-! It's, it's coming Master! Something's- ... AAAAAAHH!" She screams and twitches, throwing her head back, hips bucking back violently as she loses all strength. I feel her squirting onto my dick, and this causes me to release my load into her and fill her up. She presses her body against the mirror for support, and once we recover, Arturia removes what little clothing she has on and we crawl into bed.

Arturia lays her head on my shoulder, I bring my arm around and pull her close to me, resting my hand on the small of her back. She rests her hand on my chest and I interlock our fingers with my free hand. I listen to the sweet sound of her breathing. "Thank you for that, Master." She whispers.

"Mmm." I reply, and after a moment I continue, "...I love you."

She's already asleep.

…

 **Lemon over, nothing else expected from here on.**

…

I open my eyes and my vision is filled with Arturia's beautiful face. She's already awake and looking at me. She and I both smile, and I give her a quick peck on the lips. "Morning." I say, my voice slightly hoarse from just waking up.

"Good morning, Master." We get up and get dressed, then walk out into the main room. Everyone is already out and eating breakfast.

"Good afternoon sleeping beauty." Schellick says as we enter the room.

"Goo- What?" I check my watch, it's 1224, holy fuck, how did that happen? "Oh shit, huh."

"Didn't get much sleep last night, boss?" Minaki asks, a sly grin on her face as she glances between me and Arturia, who is starting to blush.

"I think I know why~." Schellick sings, snickering.

"Schellick, shut up." Is what I was about to say, but both Arturia and Mordred beat me to it.

"Oh hey, Father, how are you feeling this morning?" Mordred suddenly asks.

"I feel… the same as normal, why?"

"Oh, I just wanted to see if the supplement worked."

"Supplement?" Arturia looks quizzically at her son.

"Yeah, I put some in your drink last night, I found it and thought you might need-"

"YOU SPIKED HER DRINK!?" I suddenly shout, "With what!?"

"A- A bottle I found in the cupboard while I was looking for glasses for dinner last night. I put it back-"

"Which cupboard?" I ask again, furious. I swear, Mordred is so immature. I stride into the kitchen.

"The one up by the fridge."

I open it, there's a white squared bottle inside, I grab the bottle and look at it. "ProCentra… dextroamphetamine… oh fuck. Mordred, how much did you give her?"

"Uh… like, half the bottle."

Oh lord in heaven. This is an amphetamine, which affects and stimulates certain sections of the nervous system. It's a 16oz bottle, and based off the dose, Mordred gave Arturia about… 230mg of a god damn aphrodisiac last night. That explains why she was like that. The max dose you should give someone in a whole day is around 40mg. "Mordred! Next time you see something like this, show it to me!" I throw the bottle at her, "You could've killed her! We're lucky it wasn't rat poison or drain cleaner! Fuck!"

We spend the day doing whatever needs getting done in preparation for the patrol tonight. Thanks to our rest and my healing, everyone's more or less back up to full strength. Once nighttime hits, we head out into the city to start patrolling. As we move around, my Servants notice faint traces of the other Servants, but nothing solid, and when we start moving in the general direction of the Servant, it disappears. After a little while I have Mordred and Minaki break away from the rest of us and go about a mile away, so that we can cover more area. At just past one in the morning, Schellick, Arturia, and I take a break. We're sitting on top of a tall building overlooking one of the main business streets in the city. There's no one on the street since it's a Sunday night and everyone has to go to work tomorrow.

"Hey, Arturia," Schellick suddenly says while we're eating a snack, "I have to say, it's still weird to think that you're actually a chick... And boss, I still can't believe you fucked her."

"I was waiting for that." I smile.

"It would have been even more unbelievable to think that the King of Knights was actually a woman back when I was alive, the Feudal system is not kind to women. History has a strange way of distorting facts, as well." Arturia responds. "Master, what do the historians of this world actually say about me?"

"Hmm, well honestly, there's a pretty heavy debate on whether or not you actually existed. The 'you' that's standing here right now is considered to be just a legend, kinda like Astolfo, but the 'real' you is thought to be a Celtic warlord that fought against the Saxons when they invaded Briton."

"That is strange, I know for a fact that every aspect of my life was real, even including my sword."

"Yeah, but the problem is that most people don't believe in magic, so a lot of parts of your story just seem too outlandish for most people to believe."

"That makes sense, but what about the way my story changes? Like when your daughter recounted a version of my story that was completely different than what happened."

"Probably just details getting mixed up over time, since stories like that are spread mainly by word of mouth."

"Hmm."

Schellick pipes up, "Yeah, I remember reading books on you when I was in college. It's weird though, I mean when someone looks at you, it's pretty obvious that you're a woman, but there aren't any versions of your story that even hint at that fact."

"I do remember, over time I became so adept at pretending I was a man, that I began to believe if myself. Only about four people in the whole world knew the truth about me."

I smile, "... Well, personally, I prefer you as a woman. This way, it's a lot more fun to say that I fucked King Arthur." Schellick and I laugh as we get up, "Alright, let's get back-"

"Master!" Arturia spins and darts in front of me, Schellick and I have just enough time to turn and draw our side arms before we both scream in pain as our limbs get speared by small javelins attached to chains. We all get pushed off the edge of the roof and are dangling, held in place by these chains, emerging from golden circles in the air. I have spears sticking out of my left arm and leg, my right side supporting Arturia, who has chains speared through her left limbs a well, and a chain wrapped around her right wrist, and Schellick has darts in his right and left shoulders, left knee, and right thigh.

The obvious culprit, Gilgamesh, appears before us, "Good evening, Saber. My apologies, I merely intended to skewer your mutt of a Master. It seems I underestimated your speed."

"Archer. How do you still live?" Arturia demands.

"Mordred, Minaki, you guys gotta make your way here now." I mutter.

"Roger, boss."

" _Coming, Master."_

"The more that I have seen of you, King of Knights, the more that my affection towards you has grown. I do not intend to end this war until I have claimed the Grail and made you my bride."

"'Bride'?" Arturia questions.

"Yes. When my Master was killed, I merely looked for another dog worthy of supplying me with what I need to win the Holy Grail War."

"Who's, gah, that then?" I ask him.

"I do not remember giving you permission to speak, cur. You only live, not because of my mercy, for I have none, but because of my love for Saber. You had best remember that."

"What is your reason for this action then, King of Heroes?" Arturia asks him.

"I have come to propose to you, King of Knights."

"What!?" Arturia is dumbfounded.

"Yes. Accept my hand in marriage! Say that you will be mine and mine alone! Allow me to kill your Master, and free you from his shackles. I shall win this War for you, and when I secure the Grail you may sit next to me on my throne, as a queen! I will give you whatever your heart desires! I will-"

*Crakakak*

Schellick let's off a burst from his machine pistol. One round pings off Gilgamesh's giant pauldron and grazes his forehead, making him flinch a little, a small trickle of blood running down his face. Schellick can barely move his arm and so can't control the recoil, and the gun flies out of his hand, breaking his pointer finger. Gilgamesh's eyes flare, he looks at Schellick, who is glaring at him with a look of painful defiance. "Insolent bitch!" Gilgamesh materializes a sword and swings it at Schellick, lopping off the hand that was holding his gun, Schellick screams.

"How dare you even think to harm me!" Gilgamesh stabs Schellick in the right side of his chest, Schellick screams again. "Your King!" The left side, I scream at Gilgamesh to stop, struggling against the spears impeding my movement. "Your GOD!" He plunges the sword into his abdomen and leaves it there.

Schellick has blood pouring out of his mouth, he can barely breathe as it is. Gilgamesh wraps a hand around his throat, "You are less than a tick on the pelt of a lion compared to me, mongrel. It was high time you all learned your-"

Schellick spits blood into his face. "Fuhck. Yhou." He gurgles out. Gilgamesh looks ready to kill him.

"Hey shiny!" We suddenly hear a feminine voice from above us. Everyone looks up and about twenty feet above us is Astolfo on his hippogriff. "If you kill that man, I'm gonna use this on you!" He holds up some kind of horn. "So you'd better leave them alone! This is a fight between Servants!"

Gilgamesh looks upon Astolfo like some kind of disgusting insect. "You presume to think that you are worthy of my effort?" He squeezes Schellick's throat, an audible pop and crack is heard as his windpipe collapses and his spine is crushed. Schellick goes completely limp.

I feel something within me stir, like… like something broke, not quite a heartbreak, but pretty close. My breathing has already been heavy from fear up until now, but now I'm panting in anger. "You… You… You motherfucker." I growl at Gilgamesh. My vision goes red. "Kill him." I say to Arturia, then I hear, "La Black Luna!" from Astolfo, and a loud ringing call from a horn, then a burst of blue light emanates from him. The light douses everything within about 200 feet of him, the weapons impaling us disappear. We start to fall, I shove Arturia forward, quickly muttering a healing spell for her wounds, then I look at my hand. Mordred and Minaki aren't here yet. Astolfo is no match for Gilgamesh and Arturia's gonna need all the help she can get. "By my command seal," My command seals start glowing, "Mordred, come to me!" I yell. There's a red flash from my hand and Mordred appears in full battle rattle, except for her helmet, beside Arturia. She turns and grins at me, that familiar fire in her eyes as her helmet closes. "Fuck him up." I say as I fall. I need to get away from Gilgamesh, I'm the easiest, and most valuable, target for him right now. I spin and look down while I fall, judging my distance from the ground.

Suddenly I feel something grab my legs. I look back up and see Astolfo's hippogriff grabbing me in its front legs. "What the fuck!?" I yell as I extend my blades, ready to kill this thing. Somehow.

"Calm down, Saber's Master! I'm gonna get you somewhere safe!" Astolfo tells me before I can do anything. Are you shitting me? Alright then, fine. He has no reason to lie to me. He drops me off somewhat unceremoniously on a rooftop overlooking the one that we were on. I look around, there's Iskandar with Waver in his chariot. Astolfo flies back into the fight.

"Greetings, Master of Saber." Iskandar says to me.

"What are you doing? Go help them! Go end that miserable fuck's life!"

"I understand your grief, but now is not the time for rash decisions, especially against such a powerful enemy. Plans made in haste and anger bring about ruin."

He's not entirely wrong, but it would really help if he just used his Noble Phantasm and ended Gilgamesh. I get up, Avalon is almost finished healing my wounds, and go to the edge of the roof to watch the fight. Gilgamesh is in a tight spot, he's constantly having to back up and dodge blows, but his attacks are powerful enough to keep the other Servants away long enough to reposition himself. He will send out a barrage of swords, halberds, spears, etc. and while my Servants dodge, parry, or catch them, or take them, he will move away from them. Astolfo is flying above the roof, his hippogriff swooping and swerving in midair to avoid Archer's attacks, then dive bombing him. Arturia and Mordred aren't even able to get close enough to attack him, but at some point Mordred gets fed up and rips a large A/C unit off it's foundation, hurling it at him. He summons a large claymore in front of himself and it splits the unit in two, both halves tumbling off the roof. Astolfo takes this time to dive once more, and Gilgamesh fires a series of chains at the hippogriff, catching it in the air.

Momentum carries Astolfo forward and he flies off his mount, landing about thirty feet away from Archer as he skewers the mythical beast with a series of weapons. Astolfo pulls out some kind of book as Gilgamesh opens about twenty portals in a dome around him.

"Boss, I'm in position, about half a mile out, got a good view of the fight." Minaki says into my earpiece.

"Hold up, I'll let you know." I look behind me to a building about as far away as she described, upon looking back I notice the red Archer on a roof across the street from us, watching the fight as well. Gilgamesh releases weapons at Astolfo, a huge dust cloud appears where he was as the weapons explode on impact. I hear Iskandar sigh behind me as Gilgamesh turns his attention back to my Servants. Then, Astolfo bursts out of the dust cloud, a yellow force field around him dissipating as he does so. He thrusts at Gilgamesh with his lance, catching him on the left shoulder, causing his entire arm to disappear. Gilgamesh only barely dodges the blow, even from here I can see the look of surprise on his face. A golden gate appears behind Astolfo and a spear runs through his chest. He disappears quickly.

"Heh, full of surprises, as always." Iskandar muses. Mordred bursts forward and swings at Gilgamesh, he summons some kind of shield on himself and blocks the blow, but Mordred keeps hammering at him, and with only one arm now, there's not a lot he can do. It must take a good amount of concentration to use his Noble Phantasm.

"Boss, I can hit him." Minaki suddenly chimes in over comms.

"Wait, I don't want something weird to happen where you hit Mordred or Arturia."

"But boss, he's at a standstill, it'll be easy!"

"I said wait, Minaki."

"So you don't want me to kill the guy who just gutted Schellick!?"

"Dammit Minaki, wait! That's a fucking order! The other-"

"Fuck it!"

*crack*

Minaki fires a shot, and as I feared, it's right when Gilgamesh decides to move. The shot that was aimed at his head grazes his throat as he pulls back to try and escape Mordred's and Arturia's onslaught. I turn as I hear the shot and see the red Archer spin and raise his bow, summoning some kind of spiral shaped arrow, he looses it at the building Minaki was on. It shines brightly as it travels towards her position. "What the fu-"

*ka-koom*

Minaki is cut off as the whole upper half of the building about half a mile away explodes. I stare at the dust cloud, the same feeling that I got when Schellick died hits me again. "God fucking damn it." I mutter as I turn back to where the red Archer was. He's now gone, and so I look back to see how my Servants are doing. Both Arturia and Mordred are cut up and bleeding from Archer's attacks. But they seem to be winning. They've been pushed back but now they're on opposite sides of him.

" _Father, if we go at him at the same time, he won't be able to react in time."_ Mordred says.

" _Understood. I'll distract him, you take him down, Mordred."_ They position themselves, Gilgamesh has to keep switching his focus from one to the other. Arturia uses her mana burst ability to rush forward, and Gilgamesh switches his attention to her, bringing up several gates to attack her. He seemed to anticipate that Mordred would attack as well, because he shoots out several weapons at her, but they land several feet short of her, because she didn't move. She raises her weapon and throws it at him.

Clarent spins in the air and impales itself into his abdomen, piercing his armor just below his ribs. This causes him to lose focus as he attacks Arturia and most of his weapons miss. One grazes Arturia's ear as she dodges it, and she swipes sideways as she passes Gilgamesh, stopping a few feet behind him. As Gilgamesh starts to disappear, blood sprays out of his abdomen and he collapses, splitting into two halves.

We all meet up back on the street below the building that they were fighting on. Both of my Servants are banged up, breathing heavily from exertion, bits of armor missing and blood trickling out of the several piercing wounds on their bodies. As I heal their wounds, Iskandar says, "I must say, Sabers, I was not expecting you to emerge victorious from that battle."

"Archer's flaw was in the nature of his Noble Phantasm." Arturia says, "In a one on one engagement, he would have the upper hand, but when faced with multiple opponents, he could not keep track of all of us at once. I am sorry about your companion, Rider. He was instrumental in our survival."

"He shall be mourned, but he died as he lived: defending the weak. We can only hope that we all go out the same way." Iskandar says.

"Sabers!" Arturia's voice suddenly calls out. The Lancers appear a few feet away from us.

"What now?" Mordred says, exasperated.

"Our duel must end tonight." Lancer Arturia says.

Arturia speaks, "Lancers, I am sorry, but we are tired and injured from our fight-"

"We know!" Diarmuid suddenly yells, he seems frustrated and pissed for some reason. "If It were up to us, we would let you rest, but no, our Master decided otherwise."

"Your Master…" Arturia

"He used his last command seal to order us to fight you tonight." He's shaking, barely containing his rage. "A victor must be chosen before sunrise."

Arturia and Mordred look at me. I shrug, there's not much any of us can do in this situation. Arturia sighs, "Very we-"

Iskandar moves his chariot between the Lancers and Sabers. "Lancers, from what I have seen of you, I know that the pain of being dishonored is far greater than the agony of resisting a command seal."

"Rider, our quarrel is not with you, please stand aside." Lancer Arturia says.

"Ah but Saber and I have a quarrel of our own. It would be unfair to all of us if you were to cut them down while they were weary and you were fresh."

"Rider, you surely cannot imply that you would fight us alone."

"Hahaha! Of course not, don't you remember? A King never fights alone! If you would fight me and my Ionioi Hetairoi, either I win and can then fight Saber at my leisure, or I tire you out to the point that a fight between yourselves and the Sabers would be more fair."

"Rider, you needn't sacrifice yourself like this!" My Arturia says.

"It's fine, King of Knights. Either way, you will be dueling one on one with a worthy opponent of equal strength. This is the most I can give you… And besides, Lancers, your Master only said that you need to kill Saber tonight, not that you can't fight me first!"

The Lancers look at each other. "Very well, Rider, we accept your challenge." The red Archer appears out of nowhere, behind Iskandar's chariot, out of sight of him and the Lancers. He winks at us with a smirk as Rider raises his hands and a bright flash of light envelops is. Suddenly only myself and my Servants are standing in the street. The only sounds are sirens responding to the exploding building.

One minute passes. Two. Five. Ten. I heal my Servants as much as I can in the meantime. "Master, I am sorry about Schellick and Minaki, I should've…" Arturia starts,

"It's not your fault, they knew the risks, and there was nothing any of us could've done. Just focus on winning, so that it wasn't for nothing." I press my head against hers, attempting to calm her.

"I know Master, but if I can't save just one person, how can-" She's cut off as there's another flash of light, the Lancers and Archer appear before us, but not Rider. Diarmuid is on his knees, using his spear to support his weight, panting, blood oozing from dozens of cuts along his body, a few arrows sticking out of his back and shoulders.

The Lancer Arturia is also on her knees, armor and helmet scratched up and bloody, but her horse is on its side, she's resting its head on her lap, she gently strokes it as it fades away in a similar fashion to most other Servants. Archer has several weapons sticking out of his body, he gets up and starts walking away. The Lancers look at him, with… fear? No, that's impossible, but they're definitely wary of him.

"Who, the fuck, are you?" I ask of Archer.

He stops and turns his head to look at me. "A hero." He says simply. All of a sudden his face looks very familiar… No… No fucking way. He turns into his spirit form and leaves.

Lancer Arturia picks her lance off the ground and gets up, along with Diarmuid. "Well, ng, shall we finally end this, Sabers?" He says.

"Are you in a state to fight?" Mordred asks. "I'd hate to have all this build up for something that looks more like an execution than a fight."

"We must fight you tonight, even if we didn't want to. Our Master commanded us." Lancer Arturia says.

"Besides, heh, I wouldn't be much of a legend if I couldn't defeat you when I'm a little tired from a small skirmish." Diarmuid says with a smirk.

The Sabers and Lancers square up to each other. After a moment, their final clash begins. They lunge at one another, beginning their fight, it looks very similar to their first fight, Diarmuid and Arturia showing their skill as fighters with their deft strikes and parries, Mordred and Lancer Arturia trading blows, barely dodging each other's attacks and responding with their own slashes and jabs. Both Arturias make good use of their Instinct abilities, drawing on their previous battles to try and predict their opponents' next attacks in order to thwart them, but both Mordred and Diarmuid know of these tactics, and so they gradually switch up their fighting style every few seconds to keep them on their toes.

After about four minutes of combat, all the Servants are reaching their limits, as am I. I can feel that unnatural fatigue of mana draining creeping up. Lancer Arturia manages to disarm Mordred, and Mordred responds by tackling her, the force of her impact causing Arturia to drop her lance. Mordred runs forward, carrying Arturia on her shoulder, charging through Saber Arturia and Diarmuid, who at that time had their weapons locked, causing them to separate.

Mordred slams Arturia into the wall of a building and starts pummeling her with her fists, breaking her helmet. After a few hits, Arturia catches Mordred's fist and kicks her shin, pushing her back a foot. She then follows that up with a roundhouse kick to Mordred's head, breaking her helmet as well. The two begin a fistfight that looks like professional kickboxing while my Arturia and Diarmuid continue their deadly dance. Lancer uses his spear more like a quarterstaff, spinning it around and striking with the handle as well as the point.

Lancer Arturia and Mordred continue their brawl as they slowly move back towards where their weapons are. My Arturia gives Diarmuid a sizable gash in his side. A couple blows later he grazes the side of her neck as she barely dodges a thrust at her throat. Mordred and Lancer Arturia separate and pick their weapons back up. Both pairs of Servants continue fighting and shuffle around until both Arturias are almost back to back, about fifteen feet away from each other.

Diarmuid lunges at Arturia, she parries and kicks him about ten feet away. At the same time, Mordred has had enough and uses a mana burst to charge at Lancer, red lightning sparking from her sword and armor. Lancer Arturia steps back and crouches at the last second, Mordred is completely exposed. She lunges forward with her lance as Mordred's momentum carries her forward and Arturia runs Mordred through the chest with her spear.

Both I and my Arturia freeze, I feel an intense pain in my chest, unlike anything I've ever felt before. Lancer Arturia removes her spear from Mordred, and Mordred falls to her knees, dropping her sword, puking up blood. My Arturia turns to look at them, a look of abject anguish on her usually stoic face. Diarmuid has a perfect opening, but his pride and honor prevents him from taking it, he's shaking, trying to control his impulse brought on by the command seal placed on him.

Lancer Arturia places the tip of her spear on Mordred's throat, "Ironic, that our fight will end this way." She says.

"How 'bout you actually look me in the eyes this time, Father?" Mordred says, glaring at her with a look of resentful acceptance of her defeat.

"As you wish, Sir Mordred." Arturia gets a better grip on her lance and

Is lifted into the air, impaled by Excalibur. My Arturia used her own mana burst to cross the distance between them faster than I could comprehend. She's holding her alternate self suspended in the air, a look of surprise etched into the dead eyes of Lancer, who is slowly dissipating. Saber's expression is one I've only seen in the eyes of fellow soldiers when we encountered something truly grotesque on deployments: Pure, cold, calculated, unremorseful hatred.

Diarmuid rushes forward to kill Arturia, just like she knew he would. She brings the other Lancer's body over her head and behind her to stop Lancer's spear as he thrusts at her. Diarmuid is thrown off balance, and Arturia pulls her sword out of her other self's body in a bloody flash. As Diarmuid passes her, attempting to free his spear, she spins and slices him, backing away from the reach of his weapon. She stops in the follow-through of her attack, head down, refusing to look at Lancer.

Blood spurts out of his throat, and he collapses to his knees in front of Mordred. He looks at Arturia, loathing and frustration in his pained expression. "So…kyuh...much, for…*hack* Knights…" He disappears along with the body of his fellow Lancer. Once I can finally move again I sprint over to Mordred as she flops onto her back. I crouch down next to her, rapid-firing every healing spell my maelstrom of a brain can think of, digging into my pocket for combat gauze.

Arturia is still frozen in place, shaking violently, tears dripping off her chin. She knew that what she did went against all of her ideals. She broke every rule of her personal code. Honor, chivalry, sportsmanship, it all went out the window when her child was hurt. Mordred looks from her to me, blood streaming out of her mouth and salty tears streaming out of her eyes. "I… sohrry… Mahstah… I…"

"You shut the fuck up. You don't have anything to be sorry for." I berate her, it's getting hard for me to see, it looks like I'm underwater. My hands are stained red.

"I… not… good enough." She stops looking at me, instead looking up at the sky.

"You did your best, and you won. You're still here, right? You're gonna be okay. You're gonna be fine, I just… I'll heal you up and we can go home." My voice starts cracking. The blood just keeps coming, no matter what I do. The red liquid coming from her chest starts mixing with the clear liquid coming from my eyes.

"Master… There's another one." Arturia says, suddenly beside me. I look up from Mordred, and see the red Archer, standing about a hundred feet away from us. His bow is out but he's not aiming anything at us.

By this point I've fucking had it. I look at Arturia, "Can you take him?" She waits a moment, thinking, then she nods. I hold my hand up, my command seal barely visible. I say to her quietly, "Arturia, by my command seal, I order you to use whatever means necessary to kill that son of a bitch." A burst of red energy erupts from me and engulfs her. She looks at Mordred.

Mordred smiles at her, "Fuck him up, Father." She gurgles.

Arturia looks back at me, her eyes red and wet, her usual robotic face back on. "Understood, Master."

She turns and faces Archer, holding her sword up and ready. "Are you sure you're up for this, Saber?" Archer asks.

"I am more than ready to defeat you, Archer." She responds. He raises his bow, and draws it back. He releases one arrow, which Arturia deflects easily. A second later he releases four more within about a second, which she also deflects. Arturia plants her feet and prepares to rush him, then he suddenly disappears, not like Servants usually do, but more like he just vanishes in a gust of wind. Confused, Arturia straightens up a little, and about two seconds later, he reappears right behind Arturia, his two scimitars in his hands, poised to strike her dead.

Thanks to her insanely good reflexes, Arturia's able to avoid Archer's attack even before I can warn her. They begin a small skirmish, every other strike from Arturia breaks one or both of his swords, but before she can follow up he re-materializes them, and strikes at her. Every now and then he will disappear again and almost immediately appear at one side or behind her, but she's always able to respond to this shift and keep her defense up.

While watching the battle as much as I can while still taking care of Mordred, I notice that Archer's combat style is different from all the other Servants, most of them kept their weapons close to themselves, so that they can block attacks if need be and not leave themselves open, but he seems to constantly open himself up for attack, spreading his arms out and using long, arcing cuts with his swords. I'm not sure why he does it, it must be some kind of feint. When Arturia breaks both of his swords, he jumps up and back, his bow in his hand, he releases a couple arrows at her. She dodges them and pursues him. He materializes his swords and throws them, they twirl like boomerangs as they speed towards her. She slides under them, and he's suddenly in her face with a new pair already in his hands. They continue their fight, striking at each other as-

My suit moves on its own and I catch a… well, some kind of sword, it has a three foot long blade with a small handle, you can't even hold it normally like a regular sword, more like a punching dagger. The tip of the blade is about three inches from my head when I catch it. I look in the direction that it was thrown from, and standing about 30 feet away is a man, with brown hair, wearing a catholic priest's outfit, five more of the weird looking blades in his hands. "Jacob Roberts, Master of Saber. I am Kirei Kotomine, Archer's Master." Kotomine? He's related to that priest who died, then. I draw my M4, at this point I don't really give a fuck who this guy is. Without saying a word I mag dump him. He raises his arms up and covers his head with them.

He didn't use magic to protect himself, his clothes must be bulletproof. I eject my magazine, he's thirty feet away, I reach for another mag, even if he throws his swords I have time to-

He punches me in the chest and sends me flying back about twenty feet. My front plate carrier shatters, again, as does my sternum and most of my ribs, sending shards of bone into my heart and lungs. How the shit!? He just lunged forward faster than anything, and punched me with the force of a Servant, all without using magic. He didn't say anything, there was no aura of magecraft. How can he do that?

As my heart heals, I look up from my place on the ground. He's standing where I was, a few feet away from Mordred, both feet planted on the ground, one fist extended. His whole body is tensed up, but he exhales and relaxes a little. He must know some super secret martial arts. He's obviously trained his body to do incredible things. It's gonna take everything I have to beat him.

I get up and glance at Arturia and Archer's fight, it's surprisingly pitched, neither side appears to be winning right now, though both of them are fucked up at this point. I turn my attention back to Kirei as he rushes me again, but this time I'm more ready. He throws his blades at me, and I either dodge or parry them, then he tries to punch me and I block that too, extending my blades and stabbing at him. He dodges and takes a step back, his clothes must not be as good against cutting attacks. I draw my two 9mm's and unload them into him, he once again blocks them, moving forward quickly, making me drop them once my mags are empty. We meet again and have a fistfight, I focus more on redirecting his attacks so I don't get hit again.

We once again separate and I draw my Grizzly, and as I aim he once again brings his hands up. I shoot him in the abdomen, and it seems like the armor there is weaker, because the bullet goes through. He grunts and throws yet another one of his blades, my suit moves on its own and blocks it with my gun, knocking it out of my hand. I respond by tossing a flashbang, turning away and bracing, I hear the bang and look back at him, he caught it with one hand and held it, shielding his face and ears with his free arm. Both he and I are completely unfazed by it, but I have a moment of advantage.

I rush forward and catch him off guard, sinking my blade into his left shoulder as he tries to move out of the way. While I'm momentarily stuck, he uses his right hand to deliver a hook to my left temple. I'm knocked sideways and my blade is wrenched out of his arm, leaving a huge gash. The force of his punch sends me sprawling, and when I get up, I realize two things are missing. The first thing is my helmet, his punch tore the straps on that side and my helmet fell off when I rolled. The second thing is my eye. I can see it sitting on the ground near my helmet. I bring a hand to the left side of my face and look at it, there's a good amount of blood.

I'm not worried about the eye, it's a fake, I lost my real one when I was in Syria about ten years ago, but losing my helmet is bad, he's obviously aiming for my head with most of his attacks, since my brain is the only thing that Avalon can't heal properly. If he destroys my brain, I'm dead. "Entzuenden!" I growl, my whole body erupting into flame, my vision once again going red. For some reason it just now occurred to me that this guy is trying to kill me, he's trying to take me away from Violet, my family, Arturia, Mordred. I ain't havin' none of that.

This time I'm the one to advance on him, we meet and he starts parrying my strikes with my blades, he starts using his own blades and we start knife fighting with them, giving each other more cuts and scrapes and bruises with our kicks and punches and jabs and slashes. He's a bit more wary of my attacks now that I'm on fire, sadly I can't just burn him to a crisp, pyromancy is almost ineffective against anyone with any amount of magic resistance. I can burn him with the flames on my body but I can't start a fire on him. After about another thirty seconds he delivers a good kick to my abdomen that I'm not able to block, and once again I'm sent flying, this time into a storefront window of a high-end clothing store. I crash through the window and he follows me, we continue our fight inside the store.

I grab articles of clothing off racks and start using them to try and bind him up. He rips them up and continues, I back up, we keep up our fight that looks like something out of a John Wick movie, I grab a whole rack of clothing and swing it at him like a bat, he ducks and tackles me, we roll and I kick him off. He grabs a mannequin and swings it at me, I block it and it shatters. " _Master, I'm going to use my Noble Phantasm."_ Arturia says.

I pull the pin on the smoke grenade on my vest, a stream of smoke enveloping us. " _I kinda need my mana."_ I reply.

" _It might be the only way."_ I start mentally muttering the "on" and "off" commands for my pyromancy while I strike, making it harder for him to tell where my hits are coming from. " _He is much stronger than I anticipated."_

" _Fine, do a low-power one."_ By this point I have about three of Kirei's sword-things sticking out of me, I jump back, shoot my grapnel, it catches his leg, I draw my .500, and reel him in, knocking him off balance. *bang* he just barely dodges my first shot, we exchange a few blows.

" _Ex…"_ *bang* he knocks my gun to the side just as I shoot. " _Calibur!"_ Through the smoke I see a flash of golden light in the street, and feel a huge drain on my stamina. I bring my gun back around to him and he catches my wrist, *bang* I involuntarily let off a third round. My smoke grenade stops letting out smoke, and Kirei puts both hands on me and pushes, shoving me back, I crash through another window and am now back out on the street. I manage to keep ahold of my revolver. I see Mordred staggering to her feet, Arturia and Archer about fifty feet away, Arturia is panting, and Archer has some weird giant magical shield up, it looks like a flower, there's about three layers to it. He looks really banged up and tired as well.

"This is is the sword that killed my Father…"

"Mordred, no!" I scream at her.

She lifts her sword, Kirei steps out of the store. I point my revolver at him. "Clarent…"

"Mordred!" *bang* I fire a shot at Kirei, he blocks it with his wrists, the bullet goes into his arm and he whips it to the side, the shot missing. One more.

"Blood Arthur!" Mordred screams as she brings her sword down, a rush of red lightning arcing towards Archer.

I pull out the last item on my vest. Thumb the clip, twist, pull, release. If this works, it's gonna hurt like a son of a bitch. Five.

I cock back the hammer on my revolver. Four.

Kirei pulls out another set of three of his blades, holding them in front of his body with his good hand. Three.

Archer's shield breaks, he collapses to his knees, still alive, Arturia rushes towards him, Mordred falls back down onto the ground.

Two. *bang* As I shoot, Kirei's blades widen to form something resembling a fan, the shot is stopped and his blades shatter, he tosses them away and plants his feet. _Time alter…_

I undo the chamber of my revolver, the spent casings starting to slide out. One.

Kirei bolts forward, another set of swords out to skewer me. Arturia meets Archer and he materializes his swords, arms out.

 _Triple Accel._ Time slows down in the last half second, I bring my frag grenade up and move my neck slightly as he reaches me, dodging his thrust by less than an inch. I press the grenade to his face and bring my other hand up to cover my own as it explodes.

Time, and my vision, goes back to normal as we separate. My right arm is gone from the elbow down. I have shrapnel all over my body. I can feel myself getting colder. Kirei's lifeless, headless body is a few feet away from me. Archer freezes as his Master dies. Arturia pierces his chest with her sword. He disappears after a few seconds.

I'm completely spent, I have no more energy. No more mana. I'm barely conscious. Arturia collapses to her knees and drops her sword. And she screams. She screams the scream of a broken person, someone who has seen what Hell looks like and has no choice but to keep going there. She gets back up and turns, running back to me and Mordred. I'm about fifteen feet away from where Mordred is, slightly transparent. Arturia looks from me to her son, actively sobbing and crying. She goes to me and drags me to where Mordred is sitting between us.

Mordred looks at her Father, raising a hand out to her. Arturia takes hold of her hand and brings it to her cheek, smiling sadly at her. "Father… We…"

Arturia nods, "I'm so proud of you, Sir Mordred." They both have tears running like a river down their faces.

"I thought we won." I say, "Where's the Grail?"

Arturia looks at me, "I… Don't know, Master. I…" Her eyes go wide, as a light surrounds us, they start slowly dissipating. Arturia grabs my hand, "Master I… I don't want to, I don't want to leave, I want to stay with you, I..." The light is almost blinding, I guess I'm dying, I can barely see her beautiful face and amazing green eyes. "I love you."

…

I sit up. I'm all alone, in a field. I stand up, I recognize this field, full of wheat, a small farmhouse a few hundred feet away. This is where my wife and I first confessed our love to each other. I look around, there actually is one other person here, a woman, with silvery hair and a long, elaborate white gown, wearing some kind of crown. I walk up to her. "W-Where am I? Where are they?" I ask.

She smiles, "Do not worry, Master of Saber, you are inside the Holy Grail. You Servants have returned to the Throne of Heroes."

I look around and up, there's a weird ring spanning across the sky. "So… Are you God, then?"

The woman chuckles, "No, I am merely a manifestation of the Grail's will. I am here to grant you your wish."

"I have to wish now?"

"Yes."

"What? I can't just… Take you home and save you for later when I have a good idea of what to wish for?"

She laughs again, "I'm sorry, but that's not how this works, you already had a wish that you wanted granted, deep within your heart, otherwise I would not have chosen you as a Master."

"Ok… Can I wish for anything then?"

"Anything you can think of."

Hm… This is a problem. Now that Arturia and Mordred are gone, so are all their Noble Phantasms, including Avalon. Which means that once I leave here, I'll most likely die from blood loss. I don't want to waste my wish on something selfish to keep myself alive, it needs to help people, help my country, or the world. "I guess… World peace?"

"Alright, how would you go about achieving world peace?"

"...What?"

"I need to know exactly how you would implement a wish so that I can accurately fulfill it."

"But if I knew how to do something like that, I would've already done it."

"Then how would you achieve world peace?"

"I… I don't know! That makes no sense! How can you perform miracles if people could just do it themselves? That's not a miracle!"

"But one person accomplishing something that thousands have tried and failed to do before, that would be a miracle, no?"

Are you kidding me? Well there goes world peace or curing cancer or something like that. I sigh, Minaki was right, this whole thing was just stupid, it would be great if it never happened at all, I just want to be happy, I want my daughter to be happy, I want Arturia and Mordred to- "Wait… Could you bring back people from the dead?"

"If you could propose a method, yes. But, I only have control over Heroic Spirits."

"Dammit!" Now I can't even see my wife one more time! I growl, frustrated beyond measure. I want to help others, I want to save lives and see people happy, I want others to be loved, I want my daughter to know she's loved... I... I want my wife, I want someone who loves me the way she did... I just want someone to love me! Someone I can hold and cherish and… "Wait…" In life, Mordred was a homunculus… She was a real person's soul inside a somewhat fake body. Homunculi are basically just artificially created humans. "I want them back. I want my Servants back. That's my wish."

The woman smiles, "And how would you do that?"

"Create a homunculus for both of them that's an exact replica of how their spirit origins look. Then take their spirits and implant them into the homunculi, it'll be kinda like a long-term possession. They should still have their abilities and Noble Phantasms as Servants, since they're still Heroic Spirits, but since they are inhabiting a 'human' body then I shouldn't have to supply them with mana as much as before. Would that work?"

The Grail examines me for a moment, contemplating… "Yes, that would work. As Servants, they will still need a Master, but I'm sure that you are more than up for the task."

I nod, the Grail raises her arms and closes her eyes.

…

I jolt awake, I'm lying on the ground where I was before going to the Grail. Arturia and Mordred are in front of me, in their armor on their knees. They're looking at their hands and touching their chests, new sensations of breathing and being alive again overwhelming them. They look at me.

My arm is still gone, and I'm still bleeding everywhere. "Master!" They both shout, crawling up to me and holding me up.

"Hey… Avalon…" I mutter, starting to pass out. Arturia, after a second of confusion, re-summons her scabbard and implants it into me. I feel my wounds starting to close, my arm will take a while to heal, but it'll grow back eventually.

My Servants help me to my feet and we make our way back to the car. "Master, what did you wish for?" Mordred asks.

I smile, blood trickling out of my mouth. "You." Suddenly a wave of pain erupts from my upper arms, down to my lower arms, or what's left of them. It's an intense burning sensation similar to what I felt when I first summoned my Servants. The sleeves of my shirt get burned away and I see lines traced around my arms, looking like some kind of tribal tattoo, they're red and glowing slightly. On my left hand, the familiar sword and skull looking symbols reappear. "Are you alright Master?" Arturia asks.

"Yeah, I think I'll be ok now." I smile as I think about how hard this is gonna be to explain to my family.

…

We make it back to the house, I set up the comms equipment, it takes a while, usually Schellick helps with it… Oh yeah… "USARPAC, this is Scepter six."

I wait for about five minutes. "Go ahead, Scepter six."

"...We did it."

Epilogue

"Okay… so, tell me again, slowly… you did _what?_ "

Three days after the last fight, I'm sitting in the office of General Richard Brown, the commanding officer for about 80,000 soldiers in the entire pacific army for the United States. Currently the General is interrogating me about the results of my mission.

"I used the Grail, sir." I look at him with my one good eye, my old eyepatch covering the now missing one. I knew this would happen. I informed him that we won and got the Grail, but Schellick and Minaki died. We packed up and left, and headed back for debriefing at Fort Shafter, Hawaii.

"Why? You knew your mission was to secure it."

"Yes sir, I tried, but the Grail isn't an object, it's an entity, it has a mind of its own. It told me that I had to choose my wish right then and there once we killed the last enemy Servant."

"And what did you wish for?"

Oh boy, here we go. This is the part I've been dreading. "I… Wished for my Servants to come back." I say quietly.

He puts his face in his hands and sighs. "Of all the things… You could've done absolutely anything. Anything else to help this country! You could've killed all the terrorists in the world. You could've upgraded our military, you could've replaced congress with people who actually know how the fucking world works! But you chose to bring your precious little ghosts back to life… I don't get it, Roberts."

"Sir, I, I was limited to what I knew I could do."

"What the hell does that mean?" He glares at me, elbows resting on his desk and chin on his hands.

"The Grail told me that if I wanted to do something, I had to explain how I would do it. If I couldn't tell her exactly how to implement a wish, then she wouldn't do it. I don't know how to bring about world peace, I don't know how to create weapons, I don't know how to cure AIDS. But I do know how to summon a Servant, and that's what I did. They're way more powerful than you could even imagine, if we go to war, I can use them to win any battle."

The General looks at me for a while. "Huh… Ok, we'll figure out what to do with them later. But for now, if they go out if control, I'm leaving it up to you to put them down."

"Roger that, sir."

"You can go now."

…

A week after talking with the General, I'm walking up the street to my parent's house. All my scars have healed, I have my right hand in a sling, it's not quite done healing, I have a palm but very short fingers, only the first joint is regenerated. I have a travel pack slung over my shoulder, and Arturia and Mordred are walking slightly behind me.

When I'm about a house length away, I see the door to the house open, and my daughter bolts out of the house, running towards me. "Daddy!"

Hearing her voice makes me drop my bag and start running to her. We meet and she jumps into my one good outstretched arm. I lift her up and hold her as she hugs me. "I'm back, honey."

"I missed you. You were gone for so long this time." She starts crying on my shoulder. "And then you got hurt, I was scared."

I told my family that on the way back, I got into an accident that knocked my eye out and broke my hand, as a cover story. "Well I'm here now, you don't have to be scared anymore." I carry Violet the rest of the way to the house, and as I step through the doorway,

"Welcome back, Jacob!" I almost have a heart attack. My parents are here, along with about two dozen other family members. I was expecting my parents, obviously, since it's their house, but I wasn't expecting all my uncles and aunts and cousins and nieces and nephews and my brother. I stop and feel the blood drain from my face when they all shout.

My family is pretty conservative and a lot of them are devout Baptists, so I don't know how they're going to react to me bringing Arturia and Mordred here, especially with the way that Mordred likes to dress. My parents are right by the door and my mom hugs me while I still have a bewildered look on my face. I let Violet down and my dad gives me a quick hug.

Mordred and Arturia step in, and everyone stares at them. They're both wearing their usual casual attire, they both give a slight bow when they enter. "Mr. and Mrs. Roberts, it's a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance." Arturia says, as formal as ever.

"Hi, you can call me Tina." My mom says, extending her hand for them to shake.

"Rob." My dad says, doing the same.

"Ha! Rob Roberts, that's funny." Mordred says, smiling, my dad chuckles awkwardly in agreement.

I introduce them, "So yeah, this is-"

"The pretty girls!" Violet says.

"Yes, the pretty girls. This is Arturia and Mordred."

"Oh that's right! I remember you now! Where are the other two of your little group?" My mom asks.

"Oh, they uh, stayed back. They wanted more time to spend there. Veronica, the girl, has family in Fuyuki, so they're staying with them for another week or so."

I continue introductions for everyone. We sit down and eat lunch, and during the meal everyone is asking questions about my trip, and about Arturia and Mordred's lives. I tell my family that I've been dating Arturia for a little bit now. I'm telling a story, "So this kid's like, 'you're a frickin pedo man!' and I'm trying to convince him that they're both old enough to drink, and he just clocks me in the face! By the time I realize what's going on, Mordred has this little twink pinned up against a wall, Schellick and Arturia have the other two on the ground, so I-"

"Wait, Mordred pinned him?" one of my cousins, Ryan, asks.

"Yeah, I did, you think I can't?" Mordred retorts, a little more aggressively than she probably should.

My cousin takes a second to respond so I jump in, "Oh yeah, I should probably let you all know that both Arturia and Mordred are HEMA instructors."

"'HEMA'?"

"Historical European Martial Arts. Basically, sword fighting."

"What!?"

"Yeah."

I convince Arturia and Mordred to have a sword fight in the backyard once lunch is over using the practice swords that I brought back from Japan. It looks about the same as when they fought in the arcade. Everyone is pretty impressed. During the fight, when Arturia parries Mordred's strike and throws her a few feet, I'm sitting next to my dad with Violet on my lap. He whistles. "Now do you see why I fell for her?" I joke, we chuckle.

Afterwards, we're all hanging out in the living room, chatting about whatever. Before people start leaving, I decide to do something a little risky. I get up and stand in the middle of the room.

"Hey, everyone, I just want to say something real quick. I haven't been completely honest with all of you. Arturia and I have actually been together much longer than a month, and I know that I told my parents that we were helping train Japanese police and counter-terror units, but that wasn't all. We actually started taking direct action against the Yakuza in Fuyuki, which is what led to all the different explosions and whatnot across the city. The reason that the other two members of my team, Minaki and Schellick, aren't here is because in the last raid that we did, they were killed in the line of duty… And, throughout that whole time, I realized just how important my family is to me, and I realized how important Arturia is to me. Without her, I wouldn't have made it through that whole ordeal. We went through a lot of hard times, but my love for her only grew. And now that we're done, I've decided to do something that I didn't think I'd ever do again."

I walk over to where Arturia is sitting, and take an arrow in the knee. She looks at me, confused as to what's going on. "Arturia, you are a beautiful, badass, legendary woman. I don't know how much time we have left on this earth, but I know that whatever pain this life puts me through, I can take it, so long as you are with me. So, (my liege), I ask of you…" I pull Lilly's ring out of my pocket. Most of my family has their phones out, recording.

"Will you marry me?"

…

"No! No! _No!_ " Mordred storms out of the dressing room. "I _refuse_ to wear such a stupid, girly, princess-y looking-ass dress!"

I cover my mouth and suppress a laugh, my mom and Violet are about to learn why I consider Mordred the apotheosis of the tomboy. "Mordred, just this once, please. It'll only be for an hour or so." Arturia tries to calm her down.

"Is she always like this?" My mom whispers to me as we sit in some seats in front of a display mirror at a bridal gown store.

"You have no idea." I reply.

"Father, no, it looks ridiculous on me, I look like… like, uh, who- oh, Ma- uh, J-Jacob, who's that one-? oh! Peach! Princess Peach! That's who I look like in this thing!" Mordred says.

The shop assistant stands to the side, glancing at each of us awkwardly. Arturia, Mordred and I had to come up with a story as to why Mordred calls Arturia "Father" since Mordred keeps slipping and calling her that, as well as almost calling me Master. What we went with is that Arturia gave birth to Mordred when she was about 16, and that's why she looks so young when she has a 21-ish year old daughter, she says she's about 39, and she raised Mordred as a single mother, and Mordred started calling her Father as a funny nickname for her mother.

Anyways, Mordred is wearing an elegant pink dress that looks like a ball gown, Arturia wanted to go with a very posh, royal theme for her wedding, and I'm not gonna tell her no. Mordred is looking at herself in the mirror, clenching her fists from embarrassment and frustration. "But Moedred, you look really pretty!" Violet says, her adorable childishness and honesty causing Mordred to blush and look down.

"I don't want to look pretty! I don't like it when I look pretty. Let me wear a suit or a tux or something." Mordred says.

Arturia walks up to her and grabs her shoulders from behind, looking at her through the reflection in the mirror. "Mordred, you are a beautiful person, let the world see your beauty… And besides, you inherited some very good genes."

"Agreed." I say with a smirk.

Mordred sighs, "Fine, if it'll make you stop saying such cliche stuff." She gives a weak smile.

The pink dress is what all of the bridesmaids will be wearing. "Arturia, since Mordred's the maid of honor, she can stand to look a little different, yeah?"

Arturia looks at me, "I suppose so, as long as it's nothing over the top."

I get up and start perusing the racks of dresses, having the assistant help me find what I'm looking for. After a few short minutes I find something and have Mordred try it on. When she comes back out, my mom goes "Ooh." and I hear Violet gasp. Mordred is now wearing a red, shoulderless, strapless dress with gold trimming on the top and bottom. It ends at her feet, the bottom poofing out like your standard victorian era dress, and the top hugs her body, accentuating her toned, slim frame. I have to say, I got lucky finding that, it reminds me a bit of her spirit graph clothes, and it looks really good on her. "There we go, how about that one?" I ask Arturia.

"That one will definitely work. What do you think, Mordred?"

"It's better than that stupid pink one, I guess." She mumbles, looking at herself in the mirror.

…

I click pause on the video on my computer and lean back in my chair inside the office room in my house, stretching. As my head is tilted back, suddenly Arturia's face fills my vision and she plants her lips on mine. As she releases me and I sit back up, I notice that she's only wearing a towel. "Why didn't you tell me you were taking a shower? I would've jumped in too." I say.

"Because this time I wanted to actually clean myself." She rests her head on my shoulder as she looks at the screen, "What are you doing, Master?"

"I got ahold of a bunch of the footage of the Grail War from my suit and helmet cam, I'm just going over it, along with the footage from my glasses."

"What are you going to do with it?"

"The footage? I don't know, I'll think of something…"

…

I sink into the booth at a local restaurant, Violet on one side of me, Arturia and Mordred on the other. My parents and brother across from us. I sigh, we've been planning this wedding for six whole months, and spent at least four hours a day practicing it at the church for the last week. I just wanted a simple ceremony, but since my family's involved, it has to be as complicated as humanly possible.

"You ready for the real deal tomorrow?"

"I don't know, dad. I guess I am, it would be easier if I didn't have to memorize three different songs." I shoot a glance at my mom, the wedding planner.

"That was not my fault, Marie chose the songs."

"I know, but why'd she decide for me to sing a solo? I haven't sang anything like that in…"

I get the feeling that someone's looking at me, and look around the restaurant. Most of the patrons are looking in our direction, but not at us, they're looking at the tv screen in the corner above us. I spin in my seat and crane my neck to see. It's a news channel, the headline reads "Breaking: U.N. Reveals Existence of Magic"

WHAT? I start reading the subtitles as the anchors and pundits talk,the sound turned off in the noisy restaurant.

"...Morning confirming recent rumors regarding the existence of so-called magic, as well as the 'Mages' Association', this information has come out in light of increasing evidence of magic due to the rise in technology and interweb communication. A representative of the Mages' Association spoke with U.N. Leaders last week and urged that the identities of the members, as well as the location of their headquarters, should remain anonymous for the time being. More information will follow as we receive it. Moving on, this week there will be a National…"

I turn back around and look at Arturia and Mordred, then my family. "Well, Huh… Alright."

"Magic is real? What does that mean?" Violet asks me.

"I guess, uh… you remember those magical girl cartoons that you used to watch with mommy?"

"Mhm!"

"Well… I guess you could do that if you wanted to."

"Really!?"

"Yeah, you could go around and shoot lasers out of a wand and fight bad guys like daddy."

"Cool!"

"Did you know about that, Jacob?" My mom asks.

"Mom, I still play Dungeons and Dragons with my buddies. Do you think I'd be able to keep quiet about freaking magic being real?"

My mom looks at my brother, "What about you, Justin?" He works with military intelligence for the Air Force.

My brother shrugs and gives his "I dunno" face. "No one told me." He says.

"I think it's pretty cool, think of all the stuff you can do with magic." Mordred says.

"Like what?" My dad asks.

"Well, magic is beyond the realm of regular science, so the possibilities are pretty much endless." Arturia says.

"Yeah, you could, uh, summon fire or something." Mordred says, glancing at me like she just made an amazing joke. My dad, a retired firefighter, looks at her.

"Yeah, or control fire, that'd be dope." I say.

"...Yeah…" My dad says slowly, glancing at my mom with a confused look.

…

Later that night, despite the fact that I'm getting married tomorrow, I sit at my desk and punch a number into my phone. "...USARPAC, this is General Brown speaking, how may I help you sir or ma'am?"

"Sir, this is Captain Roberts."

"Oh, captain, what do you need?"

"What the fuck is this about the UN telling everyone that magic is real?"

"Ah yes, I don't know. That decision was above even my pay grade, and kinda out of the blue."

"Was it because of me?"

"You? Not entirely, but yeah. Apparently it's been in the works for a while to reveal it but no one's done anything about it. Remember your last fight with the Berserkers? Well, a shit ton of people recorded that and immediately threw it on all kinds of social media. It went viral faster than anything else before. It was too widespread too quickly for us to do much about it, and when we started deleting videos and articles and tweets, all the conspiracy nuts came out and did what they usually do. All the fat cats started getting scared that people would start asking hard questions, so they started talking with the Mages Association, and now here we are."

"Shit. Are they gonna say anything about the Grail War?"

"I don't know, but I doubt it. People would get pissed at that, all the damage and loss of life that resulted from it."

"You don't think I should tell my family, do you?"

"I'm gonna leave that up to you, Roberts."

"Roger that, sir. Thanks."

*click*

…

My heart is beating out of my chest. I'm wearing my army ASU's, standing in front of the altar in St. George's Cathedral. A couple minutes ago I just got done singing "Flower of Beauty" by John Clements, and now I'm facing Mordred, my Brother, the best man, behind me, an arming sword belted at both their waists. I gave the sword to my brother to wear as part of a tradition that I heard about, how the best man used to step in for the groom to fight anyone who challenged him for the bride. And Mordred said that if he got a sword, then she would get a sword too. And, not to sell Justin short, but I'd definitely want her to fight with me if someone tried to steal my bride from me, so I allowed it.

I smile at Mordred, " _You happy?"_

She smiles and gives a small nod, " _Hell yeah, Master."_

The doors at the front of the sanctuary open, and Violet and one of my cousins' daughter, Daisy, walk down the aisle, scattering flower petals. My mom was super excited to have two girls named after flowers be the flower girls. After them, walking by herself, holding a bouquet of white and blue lillies, one of my female cousins and Hanako (she and Hisao flew here from Japan for the wedding) holding the trail of her veil, is my bride:

Astolfo.

Just kidding.

Arturia walks down the aisle towards me, her dress is simplistic yet stunning, not super flashy but tasteful and definitely expensive, it's a dress befitting a king (queen), and it's the first time I'm seeing it. I lose my military bearing, looking up and exhaling forcefully, I then look back at my best man and groomsmen, making a "whoo" sound. I then look at the pastor, "Father, forgive me, but God damn." I say quietly. Everyone who heard me chuckles.

Arturia steps up next to me, we look at each other as the pastor starts talking about love and God's grace and blah blah blah. Once that's done, a few of my family members sing a song while my nephew comes up with the rings. Once we put on the rings, we exchange our vows.

Arturia starts, "Jacob, I know that we have only been together a short time, but this time has been the greatest in my life. I have made many mistakes in my life, and sometimes I am unsure of what to do, but you saw through my failures and mishaps, and loved me anyway. You showed me and Mordred just how amazing this life can be. When I fell, you would pick me up, when I would get hurt, you would rush to my aid. You gave us both a second chance at life, and we will forever be grateful for you. From this day on, I pledge my life and soul to you. I will be your sword at your side, I shall stand with you no matter what the world may throw at us. I am fortunate and thankful to have met you, I will love you until the end of time." Even through the veil I can see the light in her eyes as she gazed into mine, her face as neutral as ever, but her amazing green orbs filled with love and happiness.

"Arturia, I'd be lying if I said that I didn't fall for you the moment that I first saw you. You are one of the most beautiful women I've ever met, and the more I learned about you, the more I saw of your personality and quirks and issues and ideas, I fell for you more and more. The memories I've made with you will stay with me forever, and I can't wait to make more. If you are my sword then I shall be your sheath. I shall keep you safe and love you for all my days, I'll show you as much of this world as I can, and when you need me to, I will hold you, I will carry you, and I will lead you through this crazy life. You are like a light that shines to the ends of the earth to my eyes, and I will make this promise to you, a promise of victory, against fear, against loneliness and sadness, and against the darkness that threatens to overwhelm our lives. I love you more than almost anything else on this earth, and I will stay with you as long as I can."

I made her cry. And I'm sure I made a few other people cry as well. She beams at me.

"Is there anyone here who thinks that these two should not be wed? Speak now, or forever hold your peace." The pastor says. I look at the audience, lifting my jacket to rest my hand on the M9 at my waist. The congregation laughs.

"Arturia, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?" The pastor asks.

"I do."

"Jacob, do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do."

"Very well. I now pronounce you husband and wife. Mr. Roberts, you may kiss your bride."

I lift Arturia's veil and hold her face in my hands, " _I love you, my king."_ Our eyes close as our lips meet, the audience bursting into clapping and whistling.

" _I love you as well, Master."_

…

I step out onto the dance floor of the banquet hall at a multi-event facility that we rented for the reception. After eating dinner and sharing speeches, it's time for my and Arturia's first dance as a married couple. I hold her and start a slow waltz, as "Miracle" by Shinedown starts playing. I chose this song myself, feeling that it was very appropriate. While we dance we transition through a couple different styles, waltz, tango, swing. Also, I put together snippets of some of the more wholesome moments between myself, Arturia, and Mordred during our time together, and put it into a slideshow, so while we're dancing we've got that going on a projector behind us. The song ends and we walk off the stage, everyone clapping.

But the video doesn't end. The screen stays black and the song transitions into "Centuries" by Fall Out Boy as footage from my helmet cam of some of our fights start playing. I've spent the last six months editing together a video to this song, showing the fights and exciting moments of the War, snippets of my fight with Kirei and Kayneth (one cool thing is that when Kirei knocked my helmet off, it landed in a way that still allowed for some good shots of the fight), I throw in footage of Schellick and Minaki, Arturia and Mordred fighting the other Servants, me getting tossed around by those who were stronger than me, moments that show how much of a beating we all took, shots of me engulfed in flames, eyes glowing and sometimes burning wings sprouting from my back as I use my magic, the final moment of the last fight when I shoved a grenade in Kirei's face, the hotel explosion, Mordred's helmet enclosing on her face as we fell when we breached the hotel room. I even threw in some cgi I made up of memories from Arturia and Mordred, of their lives before the War, them fighting, little hints here and there of the truth behind Arturia and Mordred's identities, and I end the video as the song ends with a shot of Arturia pulling the sword from the stone.

Once the video ends, everyone is staring at the screen. Slowly, all the guests turn to look at me and my Servants, looks of disbelief and surprise etched onto their faces. I stand up with a smile, "Everyone, I'd like to formally introduce you to my wife, a king, and his son. Arturia, better known as King Arthur Pendragon, and Sir Mordred Pendragon."

…

I begin to tell the tale of the Holy Grail War, mentioning the names of the other Servants, the fights we got into, some of the other Masters. Of course, no one believes me, so I have Arturia and Mordred materialize their armor and weapons, and I activate my pyromancy just for extra effect. I tell of how I saved those children from the murderer, and how I saved Hanako and Hisao from that car. I explain what I know about magic, and tell of what I did with the Holy Grail.

After some incredulous looks from my family and a lot of jokes from my part, about how our family is now royalty and how Violet is now a princess, we continue the reception, I dance with my mom (who cries her eyes out the whole time), and Violet. Mordred and Arturia dance together during the "father/daughter" dance, and the "mother/son" dance, and we all dance to some club music. Some of my family are still skeptical about the whole Servant thing, so I have Mordred lift up a table with four fully grown men on it above her head. All in all, it's a very good time. After a couple hours of partying I take my leave with Arturia to catch our flight to Rome and start our honeymoon. During the drive to the airport I get a call from a number I don't recognize, but I notice that it's a government number so I answer it. "This is Captain Roberts, how may I help you sir or ma'am?"

"Hello, Captain. My name is Olga Marie Animusphere. I'm the director of Chaldea, a joint organization with the United Nations and the Mages' Association. I have a proposal for you…"

 **Author's note: This is the end of a long journey for me, I would like to thank everyone who helped me make this story, it wouldn't be nearly as good as it is without the tough love that a lot of you gave. I am working on a prequel to this story (it will be a Katawa Shoujo fanfic), as well as an episodic sequel, so stay tuned for those in the near future. Once again, thank you all for sticking with me as I worked through this first attempt at writing anything bigger than an essay. This is Author-6, signing off for now.**


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